Spooks and Sorcerers
by Ghostboy814
Summary: AU. DP crossover with Harry Potter. Need I say more?
1. Chapter 1

Okay, several things. First, if you have a copy of the first Harry Potter book (or know the majority of it by heart) and this fic sounds _very_ much like it, that's because it is. To create this fic, I literally went paragraph by paragraph through the book and altered things to include Danny. I figure that just because I'm deviating from what J.K. Rowling originally wrote, doesn't mean I have to totally go off on a tangent. This is meant to closely follow the book. Because of that, there are times when Harry will seem to be more in the limelight than Danny, although I try to avoid that as much as possible. And for those of you who feel this to be a copyright infringement, please read as follows.

Second, (cough): Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., London: 1997.

So there.

By the way, the reason it says Philosopher's Stone is because my edition of the book was a tenth birthday present from my grandparents who live in Canada, and therefore buy the British versions of the books. That's also why my copy of the third book is the British version.

**Disclaimer: You already know that I don't own Harry Potter, based on the cite I just put up. Besides, if I did own it, I'd be richer than Vlad Masters. I also don't own Danny Phantom. I'm only putting this disclaimer up once, so don't sue me after reading later chapters!**

* * *

"Danny, have you finished organizing all of your school supplies?" Maddie Fenton asked her eleven-year-old son. 

"Yeah, Mom."

"Oh, I can't believe my baby is starting middle school in a couple of weeks!" She squealed as she embraced him in a backbreaking hug.

"GAH! Can't…breathe…" she immediately let go of him.

BAM

"What was that?" Maddie asked as everyone spun around in an attempt to locate the source of the sound.

"I didn't do it," Jack's voice floated up from downstairs.

"It sounds like someone banging on the door," Jazz noted as she entered the living room from the kitchen.

BAM

This time, the door came completely off its hinges and fell inside. The three Fentons looked on as a huge man entered through the doorway. He looked to be three times as tall as a normal human being, and five times as wide. He was wearing a moleskin cloak, and a coal-black beard covered most of his face.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled as he carefully picked up the door and replaced it.

"W-who are you?" Jazz asked him.

"And what are you doing here?" Maddie added.

"The name's Hagrid. Rubeus Hagrid. And I've been sent here to give this to one Daniel Fenton," Hagrid replied as he held out a thick yellow envelope. Maddie suspiciously took the envelope and handed it to Danny, who opened it to reveal yellow parchment that had green writing on it.

"Dear Mr. Fenton, you are hereby invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…" he read aloud. Suddenly, Jack Fenton bounded upstairs from the lab, ectogun in hand.

"Did somebody say something about ghosts?" He asked excitedly.

"Not ghosts, dad. Wizards," Danny replied. "Apparently I've been enrolled at a school for wizards called Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts? My old buddie Vlad always talked about going to a place called Hogwarts before college. Cool!"

"But," Danny protested as he leafed through the letter, "where on earth will I get some of the stuff this list says I need? A magic wand? Dragon-hide gloves?"

"Don't you worry about that just yet," Hagrid replied. "We'll get that stuff in time. But first, I'll need you to pack a trunk with clothes and essentials."

"Why?"

"We have to pick up one other student, then I'll take you both to get your supplies. You'll be staying in an inn in London for some time before the train leaves to take you to Hogwarts."

"London? I'm going to England?"

"That's right, so dress warm." Danny ran upstairs to pack and also call his friends. First he dialed Tucker's number.

"Hey, Danny."

"How did you know it was me?"

"This new phone my parents got me has Caller ID. It's really sweet! So, what's up?"

"Apparently I'm going to this boarding school in England."

"Don't worry. My parents threatened me with that a couple of years ago, but they never followed through with it."

"No, seriously! I got a letter that said I was enrolled there, and this guy came to take me. It's a school for wizards!"

"Sure, Danny. I never figured that you'd be the Dungeons and Dragons type."

"You think I'm kidding?"

"I don't see why not."

"Well, if ghosts exist, then why shouldn't wizards?" There was a brief silence on the other end. Then, finally,

"You make a strong argument, Dan. So I guess you're not kidding."

"Nope."

"Well, have a good time and keep in touch!"

"Thanks, I will. I still have to tell Sam."

"Oh, that'll go well," Tucker sarcastically noted.

"Why, what's up?"

"Dude, she totally has a crush on you."

"Tucker! I'm eleven! I don't even like girls yet!"

"Sure…well, good luck!"

"Tucker, I swear-" but the line was dead. Danny sighed and dialed Sam's number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sam."

"Danny! What's up?"

"Well, I kinda have to go to England…"

"Oh, okay…when will you be back?"

"Next summer. I'm going to a boarding school."

"WHAT! Why?"

"I dunno. Something about a school for wizards…it's weird. But hopefully I'll be able to come back for vacations."

"That stinks. I'll miss you so much!"

"I'll miss you too, Sam…" the phones heated up as the two tweens started blushing. There was an awkward silence that lasted for about thirty seconds, before Danny broke it.

"I'll try to see you soon."

"Yeah…bye!"

"Bye, Sammy." The two of them hung up. Danny sighed and started putting some toiletries and clothes in a trunk. Despite what he'd said to Tucker earlier, he did kind of like Sam…but there was no way she'd feel the same way about him. He was just a half-ghost freak, an abomination of nature…he sighed again as he finished packing and lugged the suitcase downstairs. He was hugged one more time by his family, and they all said their teary goodbyes. Finally, when they were done, Danny went over to where Hagrid was standing in the corner.

"Ready to go? Okay, then, follow me." Hagrid led him over to the fireplace.

"Uh…Hagrid? What are you doing?"

"Taking us to England." He turned back to the rest of Danny's family. "Could one of you light the fireplace? I'm kinda not supposed to use magic…" Jack shot the ectogun at the logs and they burst into green flame. Hagrid took a pinch of powder out of his pocket and tossed it at the flames, and they grew to eight feet tall.

"Right, then, just step into the flames and say, 'Dedalus Diggle's Seafood and Marine Cuisine." Danny cocked an eyebrow but followed the instructions. With one last wave goodbye to his family, he hefted his suitcase and stepped into the fire. Oddly enough, the flames didn't burn. They tingled and tickled him slightly.

"Dedalus Diggle's Seafood and Marine Cuisine!" he shouted. He started spinning rapidly. He closed his eyes to avoid nausea, and spun faster and faster, but then started to slow down. When he finally stopped spinning, he stepped (read: fell) out of the fireplace he was in and landed in a seafood restaurant. He looked around, confused, for a second until he heard the flames behind him roar once again. Danny scrambled out of the way as Hagrid's huge form materialized behind him and entered the restaurant. The two of them made their way through the restaurant. They passed the manager's office and Hagrid nodded to the man inside, who had to be Dedalus Diggle. Dedalus waved back boredly, giving Danny the impression that people coming out of his restaurant's fireplace was a regular occurrence. As they came to the front entrance, Danny noticed two things. First, it was night. Second, it was pouring rain.

"Uh, Hagrid? Why is it nighttime all of a sudden?"

"The time difference, boy! We're in England, now."

"Ah…what was that powder stuff?"

"Floo powder. It lets wizards travel by fire. It's faster than muggle transport, and I can't exactly find a broomstick that'll support my weight."

"Muggle? Broomsticks?"

"Muggle means non-magic. And yes, witches and wizards actually use broomsticks, that's not just a tall tale. The kid we're about to recruit comes from a family of some of the worst muggles I've ever laid eyes on."

"What's his name? Who is he?"

"We'll get to that in a bit." He withdrew a pink umbrella from within the depths of his cloak and held it over himself and Danny.

"Come on." The two of them entered the downpour. Danny noticed that the restaurant had been situated on a rocky seashore, and he and Hagrid went to the very edge of the shore.

"I'm going to need your help for this part. You can fly, right?" Danny was taken aback.

"Wha-how did you know?"

"Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, keeps tabs on all of the prospective students. The faculty knows your secret, but don't worry; none of the students do."

"So, they all know that I'm part ghost?"

"Yeah. Now hurry up, we're not getting any younger just by standing here, you know!" Danny shrugged and a ring of white light appeared around his midsection. It split in two and the new rings gravitated away from each other, one moving up and the other down. As they passed over his body, baggy jeans and a t-shirt were replaced by a black and white HAZMAT suit. Black hair turned white, and blue eyes changed to piercing green.

The transformation complete, Danny grabbed Hagrid's forearm and made the two of them intangible so that the raindrops would simply phase through them. Hagrid folded his umbrella and stowed it away, and the two of them rose up into the air and flew over the ocean.

"That's the place," Hagrid said as a small island came into sight. Danny brought them down in front of the two-story hovel that comprised the island's only man-made feature, save for a small rowboat, and changed back. No longer intangible, the two of them quickly became drenched by the storm. Danny checked his watch and noticed that it was going to be midnight, and the start of July 31st, in three…two…one…"

BAM

Hagrid banged on the door in much the same manner as he had back at FentonWorks. Once again, the door was unhinged and fell inwards. Hagrid and Danny entered the hut, then Hagrid put the door back. A pudgy kid was sitting on the couch, staring at Hagrid and nervously blubbering something about the Great Humberto, whatever that was, and two adults, a man and a woman, quickly descended the stairs. The man pointed a rifle at Hagrid.

"Sir, you are breaking and entering," he squeaked. Hagrid rolled his eyes and twisted the barrel of the rifle into a knot.

"Don't try and pull that krupp dung with me, Dursley. I'm here for Harry." His eyes alighted on the pudgy kid on the couch.

"Harry? My, you've certainly grown since the last time I saw you! Especially 'round the middle." Suddenly, a boy wearing round glasses stepped out of the shadows in the corner. He was pale, skinny to the degree of being unhealthy, and knobbly-keed. He looked a lot like Danny, especially with the messy jet-black hair. The only difference was his eyes. His eyes were a dark green, rather than Danny's electric blue.

"He's not Harry. I am." Hagrid saw him and sighed, relieved.

"Ah, that's better, Harry. Here, I got this for you…" he reached into one of the numerous pockets of his cloak and withdrew, of all things, a birthday cake. Harry took the cake with a facial expression indicating extreme surprise and gratitude, as though he'd never received one of these before in his entire life.

"Thanks, but…who are you?" he asked as he placed the cake down. Danny noticed the pudgy kid eye it hungrily.

"My name's Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of the keys and gates at Hogwarts. You've heard of Hogwarts, of course."

"No…sorry." Hagrid looked at him confusedly.

"You've never heard…where d'you think you're parents learned it all?"

"All what?"

"Why, magic, of course?"

"My parents…knew magic?"

"Of course they did! And they studied at the finest magical institution in the world, Hogwarts. Here, it's about time you got your letter of acceptance," Hagrid told him as he handed Harry an envelope identical to the one he'd given Danny earlier that afternoon.

"He will not be going," the man suddenly said.

"What was that?" Hagrid asked.

"He will not be going to that freak school!" the man asserted.

"So you knew?" Harry asked angrily. "Uncle Vernon, you and Aunt Petunia both knew I was a wizard?" The woman, now called Petunia, stepped forward.

"Of course we knew," she spat. "What with my sister being the _freak_ she was. And then she ran away with that…that awful boy and they had _you_, and I knew you'd be just the same…and then they had to go and get themselves blown up, and we got stuck with you…"

"Blown up? You told me my parents died in a car crash!" _okay, so that explains why Harry's living with these three losers,_ Danny thought.

"A car crash kill Lily and James Potter? This is an outrage! A scandal! Harry, first thing tomorrow we're getting you and Danny your school supplies and getting you a place in London so that you won't have to spend the rest of your vacation with these muggles."

"Muggles?"

"Non-magic folk. These two," he gestured towards Harry's aunt and uncle, "are two of the biggest muggles I've ever met. In about a month, you'll be off to the greatest magical institution on the planet, with the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever known-Albus Dumbledore."

"I will not have some crackpot old fool teach him magic tricks!" Vernon exclaimed. Hagrid leveled his pink umbrella at him.

"Do. Not. Insult. Albus. Dumbledore. In. Front. Of. Me." He warned. He looked over Vernon's shoulder and noticed the pudgy kid shoveling Harry's birthday cake down his throat. A violet beam of light came out of the tip of the umbrella and hit him square on the behind. Danny and Harry watched in awe as he sprouted a pig's tail and ran around the room, squealing. The three Dursleys all ran upstairs and locked the door, leaving Harry, Hagrid, and Danny alone downstairs.

"Well, that scared them pretty well," Harry commented.

"Yeah, good job with that," Danny complimented.

"Thanks…just don't tell anyone at Hogwarts about this; I'm not supposed to be using magic. I already told you this, right Danny?"

"Yeah." Danny looked at his watch and noticed that it was after 1 AM.

"We should get to sleep," he told the other two.

"Agreed," Hagrid said. "Oh, and Harry? Happy birthday."

"Yeah, dude, happy birthday," Danny said. Hagrid lay down on the couch while Danny and Harry lay on the floor, and the three of them drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Danny was awakened by a sharp rapping on the window. He groggily opened his eyes and noticed that the sound had awakened Harry as well. The two of them looked towards the window and were shocked to see an owl, of all things, tapping on the glass with its talon. Danny opened the window and the owl immediately entered the hut and started attacking Hagrid.

"Hagrid? There's an owl attacking you," Harry told him.

"Give him a knut. One of the little bronze coins in my cloak." The two boys searched through the moleskin cloak and finally found one of the little coins. Harry placed it in a pouch attached to the owl's leg. The owl then dropped a roll of parchment on Hagrid's face and flew away. Hagrid rolled over and went back to sleep.

"He's not waking up any time soon," Danny commented. "So, I guess we should start with introductions. I'm Danny Fenton, and I live in Amity Park, which is in America."

"Cool. I'm Harry Potter, and I live with my aunt, uncle, and cousin in Little Whinging, Surrey."

"Oh, so that fat kid was your cousin?"

"Yep. That's Dudley. Are your parents wizards?" Danny chuckled dryly.

"My parents are quite possibly the furthest thing from wizards a person could possibly be. They're professional ghost hunters."

"That sounds brilliant!"

"Trust me, it's not as cool as it sounds. They almost killed me once."

"Really? How?"

"When I was four they injected me with high-energy ectoplasm to see how it affects humans. I got this nasty bruise all over my body for about a week, and when it went away I was part ghost." Harry looked at him in awe.

"Is that…even physically possible?" he asked. Danny laughed.

"Apparently. Just don't tell anyone, it's kind of a secret."

"Why did you tell me, then?"

"Because I get the feeling I can trust you. It must suck, having to live with those three."

"You don't know the half of it. They used to make me live in a cupboard under the staircase in our house, and they always favor my cousin more than me."

"Well, he is their son. That makes sense, right?"

"They don't buy me any clothes. I always use his hand-me-downs, and he's five sizes bigger than me. He's the ringleader of a gang that always picks on me and tries to beat me up, and they never get in trouble. I always get in trouble for everything, and sometimes I've been locked in my cupboard for weeks on end."

"Whoa…harsh…" Harry shrugged.

"Well, at least we're wizards now, so we can always use magic to get back at them."

"Not yet, you can't," Hagrid suddenly said, making the two boys jump. "Even if you were advanced enough to be able to use the types of spells that would get back at people, you can't use magic on muggles. It's against Wizarding law."

"Magic, maybe. But ghost powers, on the other hand…" Danny said, a mischievous smirk apparent on his features. He transformed in a flash of white light and flew upstairs. Two seconds later, Dudley phased down into the first floor of the house. He pranced around like a ballerina and sang 'I'm a little teapot,' then turned intangible and flew back upstairs. Danny descended and changed back to human, where he, Hagrid, and Harry started laughing their heads off.

"How did you do that?" Harry asked.

"It's called overshadowing. I can take over a person's body from the inside and make them do all kinds of stuff."

"What else can you do?"

"I can walk through solid objects, turn invisible, and fly. That's about it…my parents say that stronger ghosts are able to shoot energy blasts out of their hands, but I haven't been able to do that yet."

"We should be going," Hagrid said. "Let's go, before those muggles wake up and make our lives harder than they need to be." Harry and Danny agreed as they hefted their suitcases, and followed Hagrid out into the bright morning sunlight.


	2. Chapter 2

The three of them got into the boat that had obviously brought the Dursleys and Harry to the island and Hagrid started rowing them back to shore.

"Couldn't you just fly us?" Harry asked Danny.

"I don't have enough energy to take two people all the way back to the shore. It'll drain me, and we'd probably fall and land in the ocean."

"Ugh, we'll never get to shore at this rate."

"I can speed things up with magic, just don't tell anyone at school about it," Hagrid warned. They assured him that they would keep it a secret, then Hagrid tapped the boat with his pink umbrella and it sped off towards the shore. After they arrived, the three of them took the train from the coastal town into London. Once their train reached Charing Cross Station, they traveled on foot through the streets of London until they reached a shabby pub called the Leaky Cauldron.

"Uh, Hagrid? What are we doing here?" Danny asked.

"This is where we'll get your school supplies." They entered the pub and made their way over to the back door. Before they could make it, though, Hagrid was approached by a toothless old wizard, who apparently was the bartender.

"The usual, Hagrid?" he asked.

"No thanks, Tom," Hagrid replied. "I'm here on official Hogwarts business. Got to take Harry and Danny here to get their supplies." Tom looked down and noticed the two boys standing off to Hagrid's left. Danny thought he saw the man's eyes flick upward to Harry's forehead, but a second later decided that he'd imagined it.

"Bless my soul," he muttered. "Harry Potter, in my pub…what an honor." As soon as Harry's name was uttered aloud, every single person in the pub turned around to face him. They saw Harry and slowly approached him as though he was some sort of celebrity.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back," Tom said as he vigorously shook Harry's hand, tears in his eyes.

"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."

"Always wanted to shake your hand-I'm all of a flutter." Harry shook hands again and again-Doris Crockford kept coming back for more. After everyone had finished, two men made their way forward. One was pale and young, and moved very nervously; one of his eyes were twitching. The other was tall and austere; he had white hair that was slicked back in a ponytail and a white goatee.

"Why, professors Quirrell and Masters, I didn't see you there!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Harry, Danny, Professor Quirrell and Professor Masters are both teachers at Hogwarts."

"What sort of magic to you teach?" Harry asked them.

"We co-teach D-defense Against the D-dark Arts," Professor Quirrell stuttered. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, Potter?"

"Wait a moment," Professor Masters interjected, as he looked at Danny. "Is your father Jack Fenton?"

"Uh, yeah," Danny replied. "How did you know?"

"I can see the resemblance. You see, I was good friends with your father back when we went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Who is your mother?"

"My mom's name is Maddie." When Masters heard that, his eye twitched in a manner similar to Quirrell's.

"Did you say Maddie?" He slowly asked. Harry nodded. Masters took a deep breath and composed himself. "I knew her also when we were in college. I suppose your father married her just after graduation."

"That's right," Danny answered as he inwardly wondered what had happened between Professor Masters and his parents to make him act this way.

"You'll be g-getting all of your equipment, I suppose?" Quirrell asked as he regained control of the conversation. "I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought. However, the other witches and wizards in the pub wouldn't let Professors Quirrell and Masters keep Harry and Danny to themselves, so it took almost ten full minutes to get away from them all. It came as a relief to them when Hagrid's bulk and booming voice finally cleared a path that allowed them to exit the bar through the back door. Once they'd exited, Harry and Danny found themselves in a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a dumpster and a few weeds. Hagrid turned around and grinned down at Harry.

"Told ya you were famous, Harry."

"No you didn't." Hagrid looked confused for a second.

"Oh…I guess I forgot to tell you last night…you're a celebrity in the wizarding world. That's how everyone knew your name and why they all wanted to meet you."

"Oh, okay…is Professor Quirrell always that nervous?"

"Oh yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studying out of books, but then he took a year off to get some first-hand experience. From what I heard, he ran into some ghosts in the Black Forest and there was some trouble with a hag…never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject…have either of you two seen my umbrella around?" Danny eyed a pink handle sticking out of a pocket in Hagrid's cloak. He reached forward and pulled the umbrella out, and handed it to the giant of a man.

"Thanks, Danny…now, three up…two across…" he tapped the desired brick three times with the point of his umbrella, and the brick began to quiver. It wiggled around, then moved aside to reveal a small hole. The hole grew wider and wider, and a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned. The street was so long that the two boys couldn't even see the end of it.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Hagrid said, as he grinned at the two boys' amazement. The three of them stepped though the archway, which shrank back into a brick wall behind them. Danny and Harry looked around and their eyes settled on the first shop, which happened to sell cauldrons.

"Yeah, you'll be needing one," Hagrid told them as he followed their gaze, "but first we need to get your money."

Harry and Danny walked through the alley in amazement. Each of them wished that they could have spontaneously sprouted four more eyes so that the wouldn't have to turn their heads every which way in an attempt to look at everything at once, an attempt that merely gave the boys a mild case of whiplash. They passed an apothecary, a shop that apparently sold owls, a broomstick store…they notices a gaggle of boys around their age gawking at one of the brooms that was on display.

"Look," one said, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand…fastest broom ever…" there were shops selling robes, telescopes, strange silver instruments that were unrecognizable to either Danny or Harry, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, piles of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon…and a bank.

"Gringotts," Hagrid said as they approached the final building, a white Romanesque structure that was twice as tall as all the other shops. It had bronze doors that were guarded by a squat figure wearing a scarlet and gold uniform. It was about a head shorter than the two boys. It had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard, and very long fingers and feet.

"That's a goblin," Hagrid whispered. The goblin bowed as the three walked inside. Hagrid, Danny, and Harry were now facing a second pair of doors, this time silver, that had the following words engraved on them:

Enter, stranger, but take heed 

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn,_

_So if you seek beneath our floors,_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

"You'd have to be loony to try and rob Gringotts," Hagrid informed them as they passed through the silver doors, and a pair of goblins bowed them through. The three of them entered a large room that had marble walls and floor; the same material that made up the exterior of the building. There were hundreds of tall desks where goblin bankers sat and peered austerely down their long noses at the customers.

"Why, what were those words talking about?" Danny asked as Hagrid scanned the crowd for a free goblin.

"Even if you were to find something, you'd never make it back out. You'd starve to death wandering the underground corridors trying to find your way to an exit. Not to mention the booby traps protecting the high security vaults; I've heard that some of them even have dragons guarding them." Finally, Hagrid spotted a goblin who wasn't occupied and led the two boys over to him.

"Yes, how can I help you?" The creature asked in a nasal drawl.

"Several things," Hagrid began. "First off, Mr. Harry Potter would like to make a withdrawal."

"Ah, then does Mr. Potter have his key?" The goblin asked as he peered down at Harry.

"Got it right here, just a sec," Hagrid said as he dug around in his cloak. He pulled out several unusual objects, including some old dog biscuits, before finally extracting a small gold key. "Here it is," he crowed triumphantly as he held the key up.

"Very well," the goblin replied.

"Also, we need to make a stop at the Hogwarts trust fund, and there's a third thing…" Hagrid wore a grave facial expression as he handed a small letter to the teller.

"Professor Dumbledore asked me to deliver the you-know-what in vault seven hundred and thirteen," he said. The goblin read the letter and handed it back to Hagrid.

"Fine. I'll get someone to take you. Griphook!" he shouted. Griphook was yet another goblin. He led them through a pair of doors off to the side of the lobby and into a stone corridor lit by torches. They got into a small cart that just barely accommodated them all and it immediately started moving forward at a speed that just couldn't be safe considering the lack of safety harnesses. Danny noticed that the cart was apparently steering itself; Griphook wasn't driving.

"I can see what you meant before, Hagrid!" Harry shouted over the din of the cart. He tried memorizing the path they'd taken: left, right, right, left, middle fork, right left…but it was impossible. The occupants of the cart's eyes began stinging due to the cold air, but the two boys held them open for fear of missing anything. Danny thought he caught a burst of fire at the end of one corridor, but by the time he'd nudged Harry and pointed, they had already passed it by. They passed an underground lake where there were hundreds, if not thousands, of stalagmites and stalactites growing from the floor and the ceiling.

"What's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?" Harry asked Hagrid.

"I think Stalagmite has an 'm,' but don't ask me anything else, I think I'm gonna be sick!" He looked a little green, so Harry didn't press the issue.

"My sister would know something like that, she's a genius!" Danny shouted just as the cart began slowing down. Griphook took Harry's key and strode over to the door in the passage wall that they'd stopped directly next to. A multitude of green smoke came out of the opening as Griphook opened the door, and the two boys gasped when it cleared. The vault was loaded! There were thousands upon thousands of coins; mounds of fat gold ones, piles and piles of silver ones, huge mounds of the bronze knuts.

"All yours," Hagrid told him with a smile.

"That's ridiculous," Danny whispered hoarsely.

"Listen, both of you," Hagrid told them as he piled some coins into a bag, "seventeen silver Sickles to a gold Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle." He finished loading money into the bag and tossed it to Harry, who caught it with some difficulty.

Next they stopped at the Hogwarts Trust Fund, which was designed for students who came from muggle lineage and therefore couldn't procure wizarding money of their own. This vault was stacked to the ceiling with Galleons, Sickles and Knuts…Harry's small fortune paled in comparison to this vast wealth. After filling up a second money back and tossing it to Danny, Hagrid, Danny, and Harry piled into the cart.

"Now, vault seven hundred and thirteen, please, and can we go a bit more slowly?"

"One speed only," Griphook replied, and Hagrid groaned. The cart jumped into motion and the three human occupants were thrust backward in their seats. The cart ride took them even deeper into the massive underground lair and the air became colder and colder. Everyone present was shivering by the time they stopped at vault seven hundred and thirteen.

Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.

"Stand back," Griphook warned importantly. He ran a single long finger down the door and it melted away into nothingness.

"If anyone except for a Gringotts goblin tried that, a curse on the door would suck them through and trap them in there," Griphook told them.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Danny asked him worriedly.

"About once every ten years," the goblin replied with a nasty smirk.

There had to be something amazing inside such a tightly guarded vault.

"I'll bet it's a bunch of rare jewels," Danny whispered excitedly.

"Nah, it's probably something really powerful that has to be kept locked away," Harry whispered back.

"Five Knuts says its jewels."

"You're on."

As they walked inside the vault, the boys at first thought that it was empty. It was only after a few seconds that they noticed the grubby package wrapped in brown paper lying on the floor in the center of the vault. Danny grumbled something incoherent as he handed over the coins, and Hagrid placed the object deep into his cloak. The boys knew better than to ask what it was; if Hagrid was being so overprotective and secretive about it, they weren't about to be able to get him to spill.

One roller-coaster ride later the three of them stood blinking in the intense sunlight just outside of the bank. The two wizards-in-training didn't know where to go first now that they had bags chock-full of money, and twisted around eagerly as they took in all of the sights and tried to choose the best place to start shopping.

"Listen guys, is it okay with you if I stop by the Leaky Cauldron for a bit? I hate those Gringotts carts." He still looked kind of sick, so Harry and Danny acquiesced and were left to decide on their own where to go.

"I say we go to _Madam Malkin's Robes_," Danny said.

"Nah, I really want to get a magic wand," Harry replied.

"Fine, we'll to rocks, paper, scissors for it. One, two, three, GO!" They each thrust out a hand. Danny chose rock and Harry chose scissors, so they headed over to the robe store.

"Hogwarts, dearies?" Madam Malkin, a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve, asked as soon as they started to speak. "Don't worry, I've got plenty here. In fact, there's another young man being fitted up just now." She lead them to the back of the shop where a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Danny and Harry stood on stools next to him, had long robes slipped over their heads, and stood still as two more witches began pinning them to the right lengths.

"Hello," the new boy said. "Hogwarts too?" Both boys nodded. "My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands. Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow.

Danny was reminded of a kid who'd been in his elementary school, a boy by the name of Dash Baxter. He spoke in the same bored voice, as though he was better than everyone else. He'd enjoyed insulting Danny, but luckily he was too skinny to do anything more than that. He always talked about learning how to play football, and that once he got big enough he'd show Danny and his friends the meaning of the word 'wail,' but as of yet he was physically powerless. The two also had the same haircut.

"Have either of you got your own brooms?" The new boy asked Harry and Danny, both of whom shook their heads.

"Play Quidditch at all?" Both shook their heads again, this time wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.

"_I_ do. Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" Both shook their heads yet again, feeling more stupid by the minute.

"Well, nobody really knows until they get there, right? But I know I'll be in Slytherin, everyone in our family's been for generations. Imagine being in Hufflepuff; I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm," Harry replied, both he and Danny wishing they could say something remotely interesting without looking like complete buffoons.

"I say, look at that man!" The boy suddenly exclaimed as he nodded towards the front window, where Hagrid was standing and grinning at the two boys and at the same time pointing at a tray with three large ice creams to show that he couldn't come in.

"That's Hagrid, he works at Hogwarts," Danny said, happy to be at least able to add a bit of useful information to the conversation.

"Oh, I've heard of him," the boy said. "He's kind of like a servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper," Harry replied, feeling his liking for the boy growing less and less by the second.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of _savage_; lives in a hut in the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed." Harry noticed in the large mirror that stood in front of the three boys that Danny's eyes were glowing green; the new boy didn't seem to notice.

"I think he's brilliant," Harry said coldly.

"_Do_ you?" the boy sneered. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," Harry replied shortly.

"Oh, sorry," the other boy rejoined, though he certainly didn't sound it. "But they were _our_ kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What about you?" He asked Danny. "Are your parents both magic?"

Before Danny could respond, Madam Malkin informed Harry and Danny that they were done and they hopped down from the footstools, not sorry to stop talking to the boy.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," the drawling boy, well, drawled.

Both boys licked their ice-cream-cones silently

"What's up?" Hagrid asked.

"Nothing," Danny lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills, where they found a bottle of ink that could change color as you wrote. Just after they left, both boys turned to Hagrid.

"What's Quidditch?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you that, too," Harry said.

"Man, I keep forgetting about how in the dark both of you are!"

"Don't make me feel worse," Harry replied. He and Danny related to Hagrid their conversation with the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.

"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in!" Danny finished angrily.

"So? What does he know about it? Some of the best witches and wizards I've ever seen were the only ones with magic in a long line of Muggles…look at your mom, Harry!"

"So what _is_ Quidditch?" Harry asked.

"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like…football in the Muggle world. Both American and European," he added to Danny. "Everyone follows Quidditch, played up in the air with broomsticks, and there's four balls. It's tough to explain all the rules."

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" Danny asked.

"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are just a bunch of duffers, but…"

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," Harry said gloomily.

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," Hagrid said darkly. "There hasn't been a single witch or wizard who turned evil who wasn't in Slytherin."

"Oh, I'd meant to ask you before," Harry said as he turned to Danny. "What was that trick with your eyes?"

"What, were they glowing green all of a sudden?"

"Yeah, that was brilliant. What was that?"

"Oh…people say they do that whenever I'm mad…I guess it's part of the ghost thing."

Next they went to a shop called Flourish and Blotts to buy schoolbooks. The shelves were packed to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of odd symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Danny picked up a cool diary that was all black with black pages. He decided to send it, along with a case of white ink and a quill he'd gotten at the parchment store, to Sam; before he left, she'd told him that she was starting to get into Goth culture and really liked the color black.

After buying books, they went to the cauldron store where Hagrid wouldn't let the boys buy two solid gold cauldrons ("For the last time, your list says Pewter!"), but they each got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and collapsible telescopes. They then visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor, jars of herbs, dried roots and bright powders lined the walls, bundles of feathers, strings of fangs and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. The two boys looked at silver unicorn hairs and black beetle eyes while Hagrid got some basic potion supplies from the man behind the counter.

"Just wands left…and I need to get you a birthday present, Harry."

"You really don't have to-"

"I know I don't have to; I want to. Here, I'll get you an animal. Toads went out of style years ago; you'd be the laughing stock of the school…I don't like cats, I think I'm allergic…tell you what, I'll get you an owl. They're really useful; they can carry your mail and everything.

Twenty minutes later, they left Eeyelops Owl Emporium with Harry carrying a large cage that held a snowy owl, fast asleep. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks and sounded much like Professor Quirrell.

"No problem," Hagrid said gruffly. "Just Ollivanders left now-only place for wands."

Hagrid led Danny and Harry to a narrow and shabby shop. Over the door, peeling gold letters read _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wants since 382 BC._ A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

A small bell tinkled as they opened the door. It was a tiny place, empty except for a small rocking chair that Hagrid sat on immediately to wait.

"Dang, I wanted the chair…" Danny muttered.

"You snooze, you lose," was the reply. The boys felt as though they'd entered a very strict library. They looked at narrow boxes piled right up to the ceiling. Both of the backs of their necks prickled; the very dust and silence in the room seemed to contain some secret magic, just waiting to be tapped into.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry and Danny jumped. Hagrid must have jumped also, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair. Danny snorted.

An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the semi-darkness of the shop.

"Hello," both boys replied awkwardly.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon, Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first want. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry, who wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were seriously creeping him out.

"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany want. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transiguration. Well, I say your father favored it; it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.

"And that's where…" Mr. Ollivander touched a point on Harry's forehead that out of Danny's range of sight with a long, white finger.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands…Well, if I'd known what that want was going out into the world to do…" He shook his relief, and the movement of his head allowed him to see Danny for the first time.

"And if it isn't the Halfa of Hogwarts!" he exclaimed.

"The what-a?" Danny asked, confused.

"Half a boy, half a ghost. The Halfa," Mr. Ollivander explained. "Your parents are both muggles, so I can't say I've sold them magic wands. However, there's always a first in every family, and in this case that's you."

"Uh…thanks?" Danny replied, unsure whether or not he was being complimented. He wasn't sure how this guy knew that he was half ghost, and frankly he didn't want to find out. Mr. Ollivander was giving him the creeps.

"Anytime, Mr. Fenton. Now, which is your wand arm?"

"Well, I'm right handed."

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Danny from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knew to armpit and around his head. As he measured, he began to lecture everyone present. "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Fenton. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, of phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you'll never get such good results with another wizard's wand." As he was speaking, he went to the very bowels of his shop, leaving the tape measure to continue to work by itself.

"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Fenton. As I was saying, every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. However, I've had this particular model for some time, just waiting for a person with ghostly attributes to come by. It's core, instead of being taken from a living phoenix, dragon, or unicorn, actually comes from the heartstring of a ghost dragon, a princess by the name of Dora Mattingly. The wand itself is ten and a half inches and made of mahogany. Just take it and give it a wave." While Danny's head was spinning from the idea of ghost dragons, he took the wand from Mr. Ollivander. As he held it in his hands, he felt a sudden coldness in his fingers. There was a rushing noise and a gust of wind began blowing through the shop. Danny's hair was blown back, and everyone present watched in awe as it changed from black to white to black again.

Danny raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air, and a stream of green and blue sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on the walls. Hagrid and Mr. Ollivander cheered, and Harry patted him on the back.

"Now it's your turn, Mr. Potter," Mr. Ollivander said as Harry took Danny's place in front of the counter. "Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and wave it around a bit." Harry, confident that this wand would react the same way Danny's did, waved it around. Nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander snatched it away and immediately handed him a second one.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy." Harry tried this one too, but to no avail.

"No, no-here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy." Harry tried. And tried. The pile of used wands grew more and more, along with Harry's embarrassment compared to Danny's instant success. Mr. Ollivander, on the other hand, seemed to get happier and happier with each failure.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere…I wonder now…yes, why not…unusual combination, holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." Harry took the wand, and this time felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. As he brought it down, it emitted red and gold sparks in a manner similar to Danny's wand. "Oh, bravo!" Mr. Ollivander cheered. "Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well…how curious…how very curious…" He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering "curious…curious…"

"What's curious?" Harry asked as Danny gave him a high-five.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather-just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother…why its brother gave you that scar."

Harry shifted nervously and turned a bit so that Danny was just able to see his forehead. For the first time, Danny noticed a scar shaped just like a lightning bolt that adorned the middle of his friend's forehead. He supposed that the scar was a souvenir of whatever accident killed his parents, and furthermore that a dark wizard was somehow responsible, but for the life of him he couldn't begin to grasp at the details.

"Yes, thirteen and ha half inches. Yew," Mr. Ollivander continued. "Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember…I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Potter…after all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible, yes, but great." Harry shivered, and just behind him Danny did the same. Their jeepers officially creeped enough for one day, they each paid seven Galleons for their wands and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.

"So now what?" Danny asked as he, Hagrid, and Harry walked down Diagon Alley with the setting sun casting long shadows ahead of them.

"We go back to the Leaky Cauldron where you are staying for the next three weeks, then you'll have to get to King's Cross to catch the train to Hogwarts." When they reached the pub, Tom led Danny and Harry each to their rooms and the two boys placed their supplies down. They returned downstairs to meet up with Hagrid. The three of them shared one last mug of butterbeer in the pub before Hagrid was supposed to return to Hogwarts when Harry suddenly piped up.

"Hagrid, what happened? Everyone's treating me like a celebrity, Professor Quirrell was saying something about me not needing Defense Against the Dark Arts, and you saw what happened at Ollivanders…what am I famous for, and what does it have to do with my scar?" Hagrid exhaled in a long sigh.

"It's a tough story for me to tell, both because your parents were great friends of mine and also because I don't understand all the details, though I'm not sure anyone does, even Dumbledore…anyway, it was on Halloween ten years ago. There was a dark wizard in power back then, a wizard so terrible people today are still afraid to speak his name."

"Could you write it down?" Danny suggested.

"Nah, can't spell it. Fine, I'll tell you, but just this once. It was…Lord Voldemort."

"Voldemort?" Harry asked loudly, and Hagrid quickly made shushing noises.

"Yeah, now don't say it again or make me repeat it. Like I said, most witches and wizards are scared to death just thinking about the name, let alone saying it…ten years ago, You-Know-Who came to your parents' house at Godric's Hollow. Your parents were part of the resistance movement, though why he decided to come in person is beyond me. To their merit, the only ones he killed himself were those he considered worthy of his presence, so he must have thought rather highly of them. He came in and your father…he tried to take him on while your mother protected you. Of course, nobody lived after he decided to kill them. He killed your father and advanced on your mother. She pleaded for mercy, that he would kill her but spare you. He killed her, then approached you. I'm not sure why he wanted you dead, maybe because you were special to him somehow, maybe because he just liked killing by then. Anyway, he advanced on you and tried to use the killing curse on you. It backfired, and You-Know-Who was destroyed. Blown away. The curse blew up the house, and I was the one who found you in the wreckage with a lightning-bolt scar cutting open your forehead."

"My scar…?" Harry murmured.

"You only get that kind of scar when an evil curse touches you. The killing curse backfired, but left you with that."

"And Vol-You-Know-Who?"

"Nobody knows," Hagrid replied in an ominous tone. Harry and Danny shot each other nervous looks.

"Now, here are your tickets," Hagrid said as he handed each of them train tickets. "First of September, King's Cross station, its all there." He stood up and made his way over to the door that would lead back to Muggle London. The two boys waved goodbye, then he left.

"Well, I guess there's no point in staying up much later, right?" Danny asked Harry.

"Well, there is one thing…" Harry replied with a devious smirk.

"What's that?"

"Can I go flying? It sounds brilliant!" Danny smiled and checked around the bar to make sure nobody was looking. He ducked under the table and transformed, then grabbed Harry by the arm. He made the two of them invisible and intangible and shot up through the roof of the pub. The two of them soared over London for a good hour or so, then returned, significantly more windswept. Exhausted, the two of them said goodnight, went into their separate rooms, and fell asleep almost immediately.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry and Danny's next month at the Leaky Cauldron was one of the best either of them had ever had. They spent most of the day leafing through their schoolbooks and making fun of each others' complete lack of knowledge about the magical world. In the evenings, they would sit at a table and talk about some funny aspects of their lives that had occurred while living with their Muggle families.

"So my mom came home and announced that she'd picked up some fudge at the mall, and when my dad heard that he started cheering and completely forgot about the device he was working on, so it blew up in his face and coated him with ectoplasmic goo! The stuff took a week to get off!" Danny said, and Harry guffawed.

"Okay, this one happened just a couple of weeks before you and Hagrid came to bring me here. It was my cousin's birthday and he, his friend, my aunt and uncle, and I all went to the zoo to celebrate. We went into the reptile house and Dudley kept tapping on the glass case of this massive boa constrictor, from Brazil. The snake didn't wake up, so he got bored and left. I went up to the case, and all of a sudden the snake woke up. I asked it if people usually annoyed it like that, you know, just for the sake of talking to someone and not really expecting an answer, when it nodded! Then, to see if I was actually communicating with it, I asked what Brazil was like. It started pointing with its tail at the sign that said 'born in captivity,' as though it knew exactly what I was saying! My cousin saw that it had woken up, so he shoved me out of the way to look at the snake. He leaned up against the glass to get a better look, and the glass disappeared. Just vanished into thin air. Dudley fell into the snake's habitat and it slithered out into the open, and when Dudley tried to get out, the glass had reappeared, so he was trapped inside!" By the end of the story, Danny was laughing so hard he was practically falling out of his seat.

"That's…hilarious!" Danny squeaked out in-between fits of laughter. He finally died down and the two of them sipped the tea that Tom had brought to their small table.

"You know A History of Magic?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Well, I was reading through it today and I decided to name my owl after one of the people mentioned in it, Hedwig."

"Hedwig…" Danny tried out the name and rolled it around on his tongue. "I like it," he said. "I've also been thinking. You know my ghost half?" He asked the last part in a whisper; he still wanted to keep his ghost half a secret from the general populace for the time being. Harry nodded.

"Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I think I'll call it Danny Phantom."

"Nice…it's like your name, but is just different enough to make people not be able to tell you're the same person. And it's ghostly. Brilliant."

"Thanks! By the way, do you know how we're going to get to the station tomorrow morning?"

"I think we'll just take the Tube," Harry replied as he held up a map of the London Underground. "The Victoria Line has a stop at King's Cross, and we're within walking distance of one of its other stops, so it shouldn't be too difficult."

"Do you have any British Muggle money to buy us tickets?" Harry's gaze shifted to the ground.

"Well…I…uh…"

"Dude, relax. I've got some American money that we should be able to exchange, no problem." The two of them went upstairs not long afterwards, and each of them finished packing up their things and went to bed early so as to be prepared for the journey to Hogwarts the next morning.

September the First dawned overcast and chilly. Harry and Danny said goodbye to Tom and left the pub. They made their way over to the London Underground stop with difficulty, due to their various oddly-shaped packages, not to mention Hedwig. It was these same factors that earned them the stares of countless muggles as Danny exchanged some U.S. dollars for British Pounds so that he and Harry could buy tickets to ride the Tube. They got off at Kings Cross Station and checked their tickets to see which platform their train would arrive at.

"It says…platform nine and three quarters," Harry announced. He and Danny looked up. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.

"Uh…" Danny stared blankly at the brick wall dividing the platforms as passersby began staring at Hedwig. "Maybe we should try and ask someone for help," he suggested. The two of them wheeled their carts over to a passing guard.

"Excuse me, but could you please direct us to the train leaving for Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Hogwarts? What rubbish is this?"

"It's our school, and we're supposed to take the train to it, but we can't find the platform…"

"What part of the country is it in?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure, really…" As Harry's voice trailed off, the guard took on a facial expression indicating that he thought Harry was being stupid on purpose, and he wasn't happy about it.

"What my friend means to say," Danny quickly interjected before the guard booted them out of the station, "is that we're looking for the train that leaves at eleven o'clock."

"There isn't one," the guard replied briskly, then walked away muttering to himself about time-wasters.

"Okay, don't panic," Harry said to himself. According to the big clock over the arrivals board, the two boys had ten minutes left to get on the train, and they had no idea whatsoever how to board said train. They were stranded in the middle of King's Cross Station with suitcases they could barely lift, pockets full of wizard money, and a large snowy owl.

"Hold on," Danny suddenly said, his facial expression one of someone engaged in deep thought. In fact, he was straining his ears to locate a person or persons he had just heard walk by, seeing as one of them had mentioned something about Muggles. He grabbed Harry by the arm and dragged the two of them, plus their suitcases and Hedwig, in the direction of the speaker. They encountered a plump woman who was talking to for boys, all of whom had red hair. The boys were all carrying suitcases similar to Harry's and Danny's, and furthermore, they had an _owl_. Harry and Danny shot each other hopeful glances, then followed the family and stopped just close enough to hear what they were saying.

"Now, what's the platform number?" The mother asked.

"Nine and three quarters!" A small redheaded girl piped up. The girl was holding her mothers hand and was much younger than any of the boys. "Mum, can't I go…" she complained.

"You're not old enough, Ginnny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." What looked like the oldest boy marched towards platforms nine and ten. Harry and Danny tried to see exactly what he was doing, but unfortunately a big group of tourists swarmed in front of him and by the time that they'd passed him, he had vanished.

"Damn Americans," Danny muttered as he glared at the tourists. Harry looked at him oddly for a second, then turned his attention back to the family.

"Fred, you next," the plump woman said.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George. Honestly, woman, call yourself our mother? Can't you _tell_ I'm George?" one of a set of twins replied.

"Sorry, George, honey."

"Only joking, I am Fred," the boy said, and he approached the divide and was followed immediately by his twin. They disappeared, but how had they done it? They couldn't have turned invisible like Danny; he was the only half-ghost Harry knew of. Then how? They didn't have any other options.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked as he and Danny approached the plump woman.

"Oh, hello. First time at Hogwarts also? Ron's new, too." She pointed at the last remaining brother, who was tall and lanky, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.

"Yeah," Danny replied.

"Are you both twins as well?" The woman asked.

"No, just friends," Harry answered. "The thing is…the thing is, we don't know how to-"

"How to get on the platform?" she kindly interrupted. Danny and Harry both nodded. "It's simple. All you have to do is walk right at the barrier in-between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it. You can do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go ahead, before Ron."

"Uh, thanks," Harry said. He pushed the trolley containing his suitcase at the solid-looking barrier. He gulped as he began walking towards it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten, and Harry nervously walked more quickly. He closed his eyes and broke into a full run, expecting to hit the platform, but the impact never came. He kept running…and then opened his eyes.

A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed to the gills with people. A sign overtop of the barrier Harry had just passed through read _Platform Nine and Three Quarters_. He moved out of the way so Danny could get through.

"See, what did I tell you? I kept saying all we had to do was run at the barrier in-between platforms nine and ten, and we'd have made it, but you just wouldn't listen…" Danny joked. Harry rolled his eyes and the two of them pushed their trolleys down off the platform in search of an empty seat. They passed cats of every color, owls of every type, students either hanging out the window to talk to their families or fighting over seats…

"Gran, I've lost my toad again," a round-faced boy was complaining to his grandmother.

"Oh, _Neville_," the old woman sighed. A boy with shoulder-length dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd, two of whose members were the redheaded twins from before. He lifted the lid of a box he was holding and everyone shrieked and yelled as a long, hairy leg was poked out of the box.

They moved through the crowd until they found an empty compartment close to the end of the train. Harry put Hedwig inside first, then started to lift his suitcase towards the train door. Danny left his own suitcase and tried to help him lift the heavy thing, but the two of them together only managed to lift it high enough for it to hurt when it landed on Harry's foot.

"Need some help?" Someone suddenly asked. Danny and Harry looked up to see that the someone was one of the twins that they'd followed through the ticket box.

"Yes, please," Harry replied.

"Hey, Fred! Get your lazy butt over here and help!" George helped Harry lift his suitcase while Fred helped with Danny's.

"Thanks," Harry panted as he pushed his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

"What's that?" one of the twins asked as he pointed at Harry's scar.

"Holy…are you?" the other said.

"He _is,_" the first replied. "Aren't you?" He added to Harry.

"What?" Harry asked, annoyed.

"Harry Potter," the twins said in sync.

"Oh him…I mean yes, I am." The twins gaped at him and Harry felt himself blushing; the twins' mother's voice floating in came as an immense relief to him.

"Fred, George, are you in there?"

"Coming, Mum!" With one last look at Harry, the twins got off the train. Harry and Danny watched as the redheaded family spoke on the platform.

"Wanna hear what they're saying?" Danny asked.

"Sure," Harry replied. After making sure nobody was looking, Danny transformed and made himself and Harry invisible and intangible. They flew through the wall of the train and hovered just above the family to listen in.

"Ron, you've got something on your nose," the mother said as she rubbed the end of it with her handkerchief.

"Aah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" One of the twins mocked.

"Shut it…" Ron replied darkly.

"Where's Percy?" the mother asked.

"He's coming now." The oldest boy approached his family, black Hogwarts robes billowing behind him. Harry and Danny noticed a small silver badge on his chest shaped in the letter 'P'.

"I can't stay long, mother. I'm up front, the prefects have two compartments to themselves," he announced.

"Oh, are you a _prefect_, Percy?" One of the twins asked, surprised. "You should have said something about it, we had no idea."

"Wait a moment, I think He said something about it once," the other twin replied.

"Or twice-"

"A minute-"

"All summer-"

"Oh, shut up," Percy chastised. The mother kissed him on the cheek and he left, then she turned on the twins.

"Now, you two-you'd better behave yourselves this year. If I get just one more owl telling me you've…blown up a toilet or something…"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never done that, Mom."

"Great Idea, though, thanks!"

"It's _not funny_. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up," Ron warned again, his nose still pink where his mother had rubbed it clean.

"Hey Mum guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"

"Who?"

"You know that kid with the black hair who was near us in the station?"

"Which one?"

"The green-eyed one. Guess who he is."

"Who?"

"Harry Potter!"

"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please…" the girl whined.

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in the zoo…" Danny flew them back into the train, changed back to human, and collapsed on a seat.

"Whoa, how much energy did you use up?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Too much…" Danny muttered, then dozed off. Harry heard a whistle sound and all of the children, save for the little girl, boarded the train and got kissed goodbye by their mother. The train began to move, and the mother and girl waved until they disappeared as the train rounded a bend. Suddenly, the door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redhead came in.

"Is anyone sitting there?" He pointed to the seat next to Danny. "Everywhere else is full. Harry shook his head, and the boy sat down. He still had a black mark on his nose. The twins came up to the compartment and greeted their brother.

"Hey Ron, we're just going back down to the middle of the train; Lee Jordan's got a tarantula down there," one of them said.

"And Harry? We're Fred and George Weasley. And this is our brother, Ron."

"Nice to meet you. This is Danny, by the way," Harry said as he pointed at Danny. The twins nodded and left, and the compartment door slid shut behind them.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. Harry nodded. "Oh…and have you really got…you know…" he pointed at Harry's forehead, and Harry pulled back the fringe of hair that covered the lightning-bolt scar.

"Is that where You-Know-Who-"

"Yeah, but I can't remember it."

"Nothing?"

"Well, a lot of green light, but nothing else…I was only a year old, after all." Ron nodded, then commenced staring out the window.

"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I think so…Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"So you probably know a lot of magic already, right?"

"Not really…I heard you had to live with Muggles. What are they like?"

"Terrible…well, not all of them. My aunt, uncle, and cousin are, though. Danny was actually from a family of muggles; he's the first in his family to get accepted to Hogwarts. I wish I'd had three wizard brothers, though."

"Five," Ron corrected. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie already left…Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Percy's a prefect, Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good grades and everyone thinks they're funny…everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's olf wand, and Percy's old rat." He reached inside of his jacket and pulled out a sleeping gray rat.

"His name's scabbers and he's completely useless. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff- I mean, I got Scabbers instead." Ron's ears went pink; he looked as though he thought he'd said too much. He contemptuously tossed Scabbers without really thinking, and the rat went sailing…right onto Danny's face.

"It's a lie, I'm not a ghost!" Danny yelled as he shot straight up, completely awake. He rubbed his eyes and glared at the two boys, who were laughing at him.

"Danny Fenton, Ron Weasley. Ron Weasley, Danny Fenton," Harry said in an attempt to introduce the two. Danny waved amiably, and Ron did the same.

"So you live with muggles as well?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I didn't even know magic existed before I got my letter," Danny replied. "My parents are both professional ghost hunters."

"Wicked! I've heard that there are a lot of ghosts at Hogwarts!" Ron said. "But they're not malevolent, otherwise they'd be kicked out."

"Don't tell them that, or they'd be barging in toting Fenton Bazookas…they're a bit trigger happy, but still great parents. Much better than Harry's family, anyway."

"Yeah," Harry added. He told Ron about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting any birthday presents. "And until Hagrid told me, I'd never even known anything about being a wizard or my parents or Voldemort-" He paused when Ron gasped.

"What?" Harry asked.

"_You said You-Know-Who's name!_" Ron exclaimed. "I'd have thought you, of all people…"

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name. I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I bet…I bet I'm the worst in the class."

"You won't be," Ron reassured him. "There are loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quickly enough."

"They'd better," Danny warned, and the three boys chuckled.

The three of them fell silent as they watched the cow pastures and farms pass by. At around half-past twelve, there was an odd clattering noise outside of the compartment. A woman slid back the door and poked her head into the compartment.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" Ron mumbled something about sandwiches, but Harry and Danny, who had skipped breakfast to try and make it to Kings Cross on time, leapt to their feet.

"Come to papa, Mars Bars," Harry muttered.

"Nah, it's all about Milky Ways," Danny replied.

Unfortunately for both of them, the trolley was lacking in Mars Bars and Milky Ways. It made up for the deficit, though, by being packed with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other things. Not wanting to miss anything, the two boys bought a little of each and paid the woman twenty-two Sickles and fourteen Knuts. Ron stared openmouthed as they poured their goldmine of junk food onto an empty seat.

"Hungry much?" He finally asked.

"Starving," was the reply. Ron grimaced as he unwrapped a lumpy package containing four sandwiches.

"She always forgets I don't like corned beef…" he mumbled.

"So take some of these," Danny said as he tossed a Pumpkin Pasty at him. Ron caught the pasty and looked at him questioningly.

"Go on, eat it!" Harry exhorted. Ron gave them a look of immense gratitude and the three of them proceeded to eat their way through the monstrous pile of pasties and cakes.

"Say, what are these?" Harry asked as he held up some Chocolate Frogs. "They're not actual frogs, right?"

"Nah, but see what the card is." Harry and Danny stared at him, confused.

"Chocolate Frogs have collectors cards inside them, famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I'm missing Agrippa and Ptolemy." Harry unwrapped the card, revealing a man wearing half-moon glasses, a long crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and moustache. The name _Albus Dumbledore_ was written underneath the picture.

"So that's Dumbledore," Danny mused as he read the name.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of Dumbledore!" Ron exclaimed. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa…thanks…" Harry turned the card over, where a description was written:

Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindlewald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicholas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

Harry turned the card back over and was surprised to see that Dumbledore's face had vanished.

"He's gone!" he exclaimed.

"Duh, you can't expect him to stay there all day, he'll be back." He looked at his card. "Dang it, I got Morgana again and I already have, like, six of her." As he turned his attention to the pile of Chocolate Frogs, Dumbledore returned to his picture and gave Harry a small smile. After a while, Harry had amassed a collection containing Dumbledore, Morgana, Hengist of Woodcroft and Alberic Grunnion. Danny, meanwhile, had Circe, Paracelsus, Merlin, and the druidess Cliodna. Danny opened up a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Ron immediately jumped up and snatched the bag away just as Danny was about to reach inside and take a bean.

"Hey, what gives?" Danny asked, confused and a little angry.

"Be careful! When they say every flavor, they mean _every_ flavor. You'll get chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but you can also get ones like spinach, liver, and tripe. George, you know, my brother, he says he thinks he got a booger-flavored one once." He carefully inspected a green bean and experimentally bit into a corner.

"Augh! See? Sprouts." The three of them had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. They unearthed toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and pepper.

At about the same time as Harry was nibbling on the end of the pepper-flavored bean, someone knocked on the door of the compartment and the round-faced boy named Neville came in, looking as though he was about to cry.

"Sorry, but have any of you seen a toad at all?" he asked. They shook their heads. "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" he wailed.

"He'll turn up eventually," Harry consoled.

"Yeah," Neville sniffed. "Well, if you see him…" he turned around and left.

"Don't know what he's so worked up about," Ron said. "If I'd brought a toad, I'd try to lose it as quickly as I possibly could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't really talk." The fat rat was still sleeping on Danny's seat, where he had been knocked during Danny's rude awakening.

"For all we know, he died and we can't even tell the difference," Ron said disgustedly. "Fred gave me a spell to turn him yellow, but it didn't work. I'll show you, one second…" he rummaged through his suitcase and pulled out his wand. He'd just raised it when the compartment door slid open again. It was Neville, but this time he'd brought a girl with him who was already wearing her Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." She had bushy brown hair and slightly larger-than-normal front teeth, and a bossy voice.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," Ron replied, exasperated. The girl wasn't listening to him, though; she was looking at the wand he was holding.

"Oh, are you going to do magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down; Ron looked taken aback. He cleared his throat.

"Sunshine daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." He waved his wand, and a yellow spark came out. Everyone present looked at Scabbers expectantly, but he remained gray and asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" the girl asked. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family has any magic at all; it was a huge surprise when I got my letter. But I was so happy! After all, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard. I've already learned our required reading off by heart, of course, I just hope it'll be enough. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She said all this very quickly. The three boys looked at each other and their facial expressions indicated that none of them had memorized the required reading either.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.

"Danny Fenton. Nobody in my family is magic either; I'm the first also."

"Harry Potter," Harry said.

"Are you really?" Hermione asked, amazed. "I know all about you, of course. I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century._

"Am I really?" Harry echoed, dazed.

"You mean you didn't know? I'd have found out everything I could if it was me. Anyway, do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it's supposed to be the best. I heard that Dumbledore himself was one, but I guess Ravenclaw is okay too…Anyway, I'm going to go help Neville look for his toad. You three should probably change into your robes; I bet we'll be there soon." She turned and left, and Ron sank back into his seat.

"Geez, whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," he said. He grimaced and threw his wand back into his suitcase. "Dumb spell…George gave it to me, I bet it was just a trick…"

"What house have all your brothers been in?" Harry asked.

"Gryffindor. Mom and Dad were in it too. I can't imagine what they'd say if I'm not. I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be all that bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin…"

"The house Vol-I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"

"Yeah…" Ron replied with a sigh.

"Hey, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a little brighter!" Danny exclaimed as he stared at the rat. His efforts to cheer Ron up failed, though, as the taller boy still looked depressed.

"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left Hogwarts, anyway?" Harry asked him.

"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," Ron replied. "Say, did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the _Daily Prophet_, but I don't suppose either of you get that, living with Muggles and all. Anyway, someone tried to rob a high-security vault."

"No way!" Harry and Danny chorused.

"Way!"

"What happened to them?" Danny asked.

"Nothing, that's why it's such huge news. The robbers haven't been caught. Dad says it had to have been a really powerful Dark wizard to get around Gringotts security, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. Of course, everyone freaks when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it." There followed an eerie silence.

"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron suddenly asked out of the blue.

"Uh…I don't know any," Danny said.

"Me neither," Harry added.

"What!" Ron asked, astounded. "Just you wait, it's the best game in the world!" and he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. Frankly, he reminded Danny of his father once the subject of ghosts had been broached in his presence. Ron was just talking his way through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but this time it wasn't Neville the Toadless Wonder or Hermione.

Three boys entered the compartment and Danny and Harry recognized the middle one immediately; he was the pale kid from Madam Malkin's robe shop. His disinterested gaze was replaced with an interested stare this time as he looked at Harry.

"Is it true?" He asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yeah," Harry replied distractedly. He was distracted because he was looking at the other two boys; both of them were muscular and looked extremely mean. They flanked the pale boy like bodyguards.

"Oh, these are Crabbe and Goyle," the pale boy said carelessly as he noticed where Danny, Harry, and Ron were looking. "And my name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." Ron coughed slightly, which sounded like it might have been hiding a snigger.

"Smooth," Danny commented. Malfoy turned on Ron.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are; Father tells me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." He sneered as Ron's ears went pink and turned back to Harry.

"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand as though to shake Harry's, but Harry declined.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly. Malfoy's pale cheeks took on a pink tinge.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter. Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riff-raff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid and it'll rub off on you." Both Harry and Ron stood up, Ron's face as red as his hair. Nobody had noticed that Danny had vanished.

"Say that again," Ron said.

"Oh, so you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy said with a sneer.

"Unless you get out now," Harry replied, sounding braver than he felt; Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than they were.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Goyle reached towards the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron. Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle yelled and drew his hand back. Malfoy was pointing his wand right in-between Goyle's shoulder blades, and had clearly just used a curse of some sort on him to prevent him from going any further.

"On second thought, let's just go."

"But I'm so hungry…" Goyle whined.

"Quiet, dolt! Let's go, I said."

"But-" Crabbe began. Malfoy glared at him, and for a second Harry thought his eyes were glowing green. Malfoy flicked his wand and the pile of candy toppled over. He turned tail and left, and the two bigger boys reluctantly followed. Harry and Ron glanced at each other just as Hermione Granger came in.

"What a weird kid," Danny said, making everyone present jump.

"I didn't see you there," Ron said, his hand clutched over his heart. "You've met Malfoy before?" Danny and Harry told him and Hermione about their meeting at Madam Malkin's.

"I've heard of his family," Ron said darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it, he says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side. He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"

"You all had better hurry up and put your robes on, I just finished talking with the driver and he says we'll be there soon. By the way, you've got dirt on your nose, did you know?" Ron was glaring at her as she left the compartment and closed the door.

It was getting dark outside. The three boys could see mountains and forests, and noticed that the train seemed to be slowing down. They took off their jackets and put on their black school robes. A voice echoed through the train.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." The three boys shot each other nervous glances. They crammed a few pieces of candy into their pockets and pushed their way into the crowd in the corridor. When the train slowed down and finally came to a stop, people began pushing towards the door and out onto a small platform. A lamp floated over the heads of the students and a voice called out.

"First years! First years over here!" Hagrid called. They all followed Hagrid down a steep, narrow path.

"You'll get your first sight of Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder. "Just around this bend here." They rounded said bend and everyone oohed.

The path had opened onto the edge of a monstrous black lake. On the other side, on top of a high mountain, was a huge castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more than four to a boat," Hagrid said as he pointed to a fleet of small boats floating by the shore. Harry, Danny, and Ron got into a boat and were followed by Hermione.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid shouted. His bulk dictated that he get a boat to himself. "Alright then…FORWARD!" The boats began moving all by themselves; as they glided across the lake everyone silently stared at the large castle that grew in size as they neared it.

"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled as the first boats reached the cliff that the castle was perched on top of. They bent their heads and the boats carried them though a curtain of ivy that hid an opening in the cliff face. They went through a dark tunnel that seemed to lead right underneath the castle. They reached an underground harbor where they climbed out of the boats.

"Hey, is this your toad?" Hagrid asked as he checked the boats.

"Trevor!" Neville cried as he blissfully held out his hands. They climbed up a passageway after Hagrid and eventually left rocks and pebbles for smooth, damp grass. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. Hagrid raised a massive fist and knocked three times on the castle door.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Hagrid finished knocking, the door swung open. On the other side stood a tall witch in emerald-green robes. Her hair was black, and her facial expression was very stern.

"The first years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here," Professor McGonagall replied, as she pulled the door completely open. The first years gasped when they saw the entrance hall. It was enormous; the ceiling was too high for them to even see it. Its walls were lit with flaming torches like those at Gringotts, and staircases leading to higher floors were made of pure marble.

As they followed Professor McGonagall across the floor, they began to hear hundreds of voices emanating from the other side of a doorway off to the right. The brighter ones assumed that the rest of the school was in whatever room lay beyond that doorway. However, they did not enter this room. Instead, Professor McGonagall led them into a smaller chamber off the hall. The small size of the room forced them to crowd together, and they stood close to each other as the looked around nervously. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she began. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the great hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are here, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. Try to look your best; I shall return when we are ready for you." She turned and left the chamber.

"So, how exactly are we Sorted into houses?" Danny asked Ron.

"I think it's some kind of test. Fred said that it's really painful, but I bet he was joking."

Harry nervously looked around the room to see how everyone was coping. Everyone else pretty much looked terrified. Nobody was talking, except for Hermione Granger, who was reciting spells under her breath. Neville was sweating profusely, and Danny had his eyes screwed shut in concentration. Harry thought he was trying to steady his nerves; in fact, he was actually trying to not lose tangibility and accidentally phase through the floor. All of a sudden, he shivered and a large amount of blue mist came out of his mouth. Before he could ask what had happened, though he could assume it was some sort of ghostly ability, several people screamed and many more gasped.

About twenty ghosts phased through the back wall and floated through the room. They were arguing amongst themselves and didn't appear to notice the first years. Harry noted that these ghosts didn't look corporeal, like Danny's ghost form. Rather, they were white and semi-transparent. He couldn't begin to fathom why this was so, and instead of speculating tried to listen in on the argument.

"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance," a monk was saying.

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost…I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had apparently noticed the first years for the first time. Nobody answered him.

"New students!" the Fat Friar exclaimed. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" A couple of students nodded silently.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know." Just then, Professor McGonagall returned.

"Move along now," she said. "the Sorting Ceremony's about to start." The ghosts slowly floated away through the opposite wall, and Professor McGonagall turned her attention towards the students. "Now form a line and follow me," she commanded.

Danny got in line behind a blonde boy, with Harry behind him and Ron behind Harry. They walked out of the small chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into what they imagined must be the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was lit by thousands upon thousands of candles that floated in mid-air over four long tables, where all of the other students were sitting. The tables were lit with golden plates and goblets so shiny they glittered in the candlelight. At the front of the Hall, there was a fifth long table, perpendicular to the other four, where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up to the gap in-between the ends of the four students' tables and the front of the teachers' table. Hundreds of students were staring at them, and the ghosts were floating here and there among the students. Mainly to avoid the staring, Harry looked forward. Danny was looking off to the side, so Harry could see half of his face. He noticed that tiny wisps of blue smoke would occasionally drift out of his nose, but they were so miniscule that one wouldn't be able to notice unless one was looking for them. Danny looked up to the starry sky that was visible due to the bewitched ceiling, and Harry caught a look of deepest desire and longing.

Everyone present snapped to attention as Professor McGonagall put a four-legged stool down in front of the first years. On top of the stool she placed a pointed wizard's hat. It was patched, frayed, and extremely dirty. Everyone stared at the hat silently for a few long seconds. Suddenly, the hat twitched. It twitched again. Then, a rip near the brim opened wide, and the hat began to sing.

_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can top them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

Everybody applauded as the hat finished. The pointed top leaned forward in a bow four times, once towards each table, and then it became still.

"So all we have to do is try on the hat?" Ron whispered. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." Danny gave a small smile. True, trying on a hat was better than having to do magic, but it would be nice to do it without everyone watching. Underneath his flowing robes, he felt his pants become intangible. He quickly grabbed them and concentrated on regaining tangibility. He glanced around and, thankfully, nobody had noticed. He watched along with everyone else as Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, put on the hat and sit on the stool," she commanded. "Abbott, Hannah!" A girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of the line and put on the hat. It fell over her eyes as she sat down on the stool. Silence…

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted. The table on the right cheered as Hannah went over to sit there.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!" This time, the table second from the left clapped.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brown, Lavender!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Bulstrode, Millicent!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Fenton, Daniel!" Danny stepped forward nervously. He felt, rather than saw, the eyes of all the students and teachers on him as he lifted the hat and placed it on his head with shaking hands. He sat down on the stool and jumped slightly when he heard a little voice speaking in his ear.

"Hmm…" it said, "Bright, but only when you apply yourself. On the lazy side, but not afraid to buckle down when the circumstances require it. I see power here, great power. And potential. Slytherin would be a good match for you, it would help you unleash that potential…but what's this? Heroism? A desire to use your powers to help those around you, not just for personal gain? More bravery than many I've seen pass through these doors, the willingness to sacrifice even your own life for those you care about…yes, there's not doubt in my mind, now…"

"GRYFFINDOR!" Danny took off the hat and looked toward the cheering table on the far left. He hopped off the stool and headed over to them. He sat down next to one of the Weasley twins and was patted on the back and given high-fives by what felt like everyone at the table. The hall turned silent again, and Danny turned his attention back to the front, where the next person was being Sorted.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnigan, Seamus!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Granger, Hermione!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" Danny saw Ron sigh as Hermione sat down across from Danny.

"Longbottom, Neville!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" Neville happily ran over to the Gryffindor table, only to realize halfway there that he'd forgotten to remove the Sorting Hat and had to run back to the stool, the students' laughter at his back.

"Malfoy, Draco!" Malfoy sat on the stool and made to lower the hat onto his head. Before it could even come in contact with the slicked back hair, however, it yelled-

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Potter, Harry!" Everyone began whispering as they heard his name and Harry slowly walked over to the stool and sat down. Danny and Hermione glanced at the other tables and noticed that everyone was trying to get a better look at him.

"It's like he's an animal on display at the zoo," Danny muttered disgustedly.

"You can't blame them," Hermione said. "You and I see him as just another student, but everyone else who's never met him see him as a celebrity."

"It's still not right," Danny asserted and crossed his arms. Hermione sighed and turned her attention back to Harry.

"It looks like he's mouthing…not Slytherin," she said as she squinted at the lower part of Harry's face, the only part that hat wasn't covering.

"It's probably because of what Hagrid told us in Diagon Alley-there wasn't a single witch or wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin," Danny said.

"Wow, he's sure taking a while," one of the Weasely twins said; they were identical, so Danny couldn't tell whether it was Fred or George. The entire hall was holding its breath for a good minute or so, when finally-

"GRYFFINDOR!" Harry was wearing a broad grin as he walked towards the Gryffindor table. Percy Weasley shook his hand vigorously and his twin brothers yelled "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry sat down next to Danny, across from the ghost in the ruff that had been arguing with the friar. The ghost patted him on the arm, and Harry got the same feeling he had whenever Danny held his arm so that they could go flying-as though it was submerged in a bucket of ice water.

From their vantage point, Harry and Danny could see the High Table now. At one end sat Hagrid, who gave them the thumbs up. In the center of the table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore, looking identical to his Chocolate Frog card. On the other side of the table sat Professors Quirrell and Masters; Quirrell wearing a large, purple turban.

"Turpin, Lisa!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Weasley, Ronald!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" Ron was a pale shade of green when he collapsed on Harry's other side.

"Well done, Ron!" Percy exclaimed pompously.

"Zabini, Blaise!"

"SLYTHERIN!" Blaise hopped off the stool and Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. Any whispering that had started now that the Sorting was finished was silenced as Albus Dumbledore stood up from his seat. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome," he began, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Ecto! Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down amidst the clapping and cheering of the students and faculty. Danny and Harry shot each other confused glances, as if they were unsure of whether to laugh or not.

"Is he…a little crazy?" Danny asked Percy.

"He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes?" Danny looked down and saw that the previously empty dishes in front of him were piled with food. He looked to the side and saw Ron already digging in, and Harry looking at awe at the roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and mint humbugs. He and Danny immediately piled a little bit of everything onto their plates and began stuffing their faces as fast as humanly possible.

"That does look good," the ghost sitting across from Harry said as he sadly watched the three of them go at it.

"Can't you…"

"I haven't eaten in over four hundred years," the ghost said. "I don't need to of course, but one does miss it. I don't believe I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"That's odd…" Danny said. "My parents study ghosts, and they say that the ones they've encountered are more…solid-looking." Sir Nicholas shrugged.

"I suppose the ghosts of Muggles are different than the ghosts of wizards. I can't imagine why, though-"

"I know who you are!" Ron suddenly interjected. "You're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"_Nearly_ headless?" Seamus Finnigan asked. "How can you be _nearly_ headless?" Sir Nicholas sighed.

"Like _this_," he said as he seized his left ear and pulled. His head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but hadn't done it correctly. Nearly Headless Nick smirked at the stunned look on the first years' faces as he flipped his head back onto his neck.

"So, new Gryffindors," he began, "I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year! Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning; Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baroy's becoming almost unbearable-he's the Slytherin ghost." Harry and Danny looked over towards the Slytherin table t obehold a ghost with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was sitting right next to Malfoy.

"How did he get covered in blood?" Seamus asked interestedly.

"I've never asked," Nearly Headless Nick replied, and everyone continued eating.

When everybody had finished with the main course, the remains faded from the plates, leaving them spotless. Half a second later, the dessert appeared. Gallons of ice cream in every flavor imaginable, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs, jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding…as they helped themselves, the talk of the table turned to their families.

"I'm half and half," Seamus said. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mam's a witch. Bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out." The others laughed.

"What about you, Neville?" Ron asked.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch, but the family though I was all Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me…he pushed me off the end of Blackpool Pier once, I nearly drowned…but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came for tea and he was holding me by my ankles and hanging me out of an upstairs windowwhen my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got accepted here…they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

Harry turned his attention away from them, briefly stopped to listen into Hermione talk about lessons with Percy, and finally looked up at the High Table. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet, Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore, Professor Masters was staring blankly into space, and Professor Quirrell was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. All of a sudden, the hook-nosed teacher looked into Harry's eyes, and a sharp pain shot though Harry's scar. He clapped a hand to his forehead.

"What's up?" Danny asked.

"Nothing…" Harry replied. Danny shrugged and resumed telling the group about one of his dad's failed inventions.

"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" Harry asked Percy.

"Oh, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to…everyone knows he wants to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

After a while, the desserts disappeared as well and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet.

"Ahem-just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start of term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember this as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the semester. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." A couple of people laughed, but the majority of the students looked at Dumbledore with mixed confusion and fear.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore flicked his wand and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into works. The school began:

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot._

When the Weasley twins, who were singing to a slow funeral march and were therefore the last ones still singing, finally finished, Dumbledore clapped louder than almost any of the other hundreds of students and teachers who joined in the applause.

"Ah, music…a magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime! Off you trot!" The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. The majority of them were so sleepy and full of food that they barely noticed the people in the portraits lining the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed ever more staircases, becoming more and more exhausted with each step, when the suddenly stopped.

A bunch of walking sticks were floating in mid-air in font of Percy, and when he approached them they began throwing themselves at him.

"That's Peeves, a poltergeist," he whispered to the first years. He raised his voice. "Peeves! Show yourself!"

An invisible someone blew a raspberry in response.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?" there was a _pop_ and a little man with dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared. He was floating cross-legged in the air and holding the walking sticks.

"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"

He swooped down at them, and they all ducked. Danny's right palm sparked with green energy for a second and he looked at it, confused, before following everyone else and turning his attention back to Peeves.

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" Percy barked. Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the sticks on Neville's head on his way. He zoomed away, rattling coats of armor as he passed them.

"You want to watch out for Peeves," Percy said as they continued walking. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are." At the very end of the corridor there was sa portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said.

"Caput Draconis," Percy replied, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through the hole and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a circular room full of squashy armchairs with a large fireplace in the center. Percy showed the girls the door to their dormitory and the boys through a different door to theirs. At the top of a spiral staircase, they finally found their beds: six four-posters hung with deep-red velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired and full of food to talk, they changed into their sleepwear and sank into bed. A couple of seconds passed, and each of them was already fast asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

"There, look."

"Where?"

"Next to the tall kid with the red hair?"

"Which one? There are two with black hair."

"The green-eyed one."

"Oh, wearing the glasses?"

"Did you see his face?"

"Did you see his scar?"

Danny was getting ticked off. Ever since they had left their dormitory, whispers were following them, all of which concerning Harry. People were grouping together outside of their classrooms to get a good look at him, people were pausing in the hallways just to turn around and pass him again, and people were just standing there, staring at him. Danny didn't particularly care about not being paid attention to; he and his friends had always been at the bottom of the social circuit. No, he was pissed because Harry wasn't some zoo animal that people could stop and stare at. He was a person who deserved his space and his privacy, just like any of them. Besides, they were making it difficult to get to class.

There were 142 staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump; some that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place; and some that weren't even really doors, but solid walls just pretending. And on top of all that, it was impossible to remember where anything was because it all moved around a lot. You couldn't rely on the portraits as landmarks because the people in them kept going to visit each other. And they were fairly sure that the coats of armor could walk.

_Heh, I wonder what it would be like if there was a coat of ghost armor that could walk. I bet it would have a really cool sword!_ Danny thought as they passed yet another coat of armor.

The ghosts weren't much of a help either. It was extremely annoying to have one of them glide through a door you were trying to open; all the more so because Danny couldn't do the same thing without blowing his secret identity. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves was worth two locked doors and a trik staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop trash cans on your head, pull rugs out from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

Danny's ghost sense would go off every time a ghost came close, and when Ron noticed it he and Harry decided to tell him that Danny had been exposed to some radiation when he was little and so was very attuned to ghosts. The two of them had decided not to tell him Danny's secret, at least not for the time being, only because they didn't want to place the burden of keeping the secret on him.

Even worse than Peeves, if that were even possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. The three friends managed to get on his bad side on their very first morning. He'd found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to lead to the forbidden third-floor corridor. He wouldn't believe they were lost, and was positive that they were trying to break into it on purpose and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Masters, who had been passing by at the time.

Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamplike eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd vanish in search of Filch, who'd appear two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone, except perhaps the Weasley twins. He could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts; in fact, perhaps more suddenly, due to the fact that Danny couldn't sense him coming. The students all hated him and it was the dearest ambition of many (and for some odd reason, Professor Masters) to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. Professor Masters hated cats, though none of them knew quite why.

And then, once by some miracle you managed to find them, there were the lessons themselves. Harry and Danny quickly found out that there was a lot more to magic than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.

Every Wednesday night at midnight, they had to study the night skies through their telescopes and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Harry and Ron usually relied on Danny for this, as he was particularly adept at this subject. They later found out that he had always wanted to explore space as a child, so it was natural for him to be interested in the stars.

Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, or the study of magical plants. They were taught by a dumpy little witch with gray flyaway hair named Professor Sprout, and they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi and learned what they were used for.

Easily the most boring lesson was History of Magic, which was the only class taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up the next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. The most interesting part of the class was when he entered the room through the blackboard, but even this was punctuated by the fact that Danny could sense him coming beforehand.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first lesson he took the register, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight. Danny rolled his eyes while the rest of the class snickered.

Transfiguration was a different matter entirely. Professor McGonagall turned out to be strict and clever, and gave them a short speech the minute they had sat down in her first class.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

She then proceeded to change her desk into a pig and back again. They stared in awe and couldn't wait to get started, but they realized quickly enough that they wouldn't be changing furniture into animals for a very long time. After taking a lot of complex notes, they were each given a match and told to try turning it into a needle. By the end of the class, only Hermione had made any changes to her match; Professor McGonagall showed everyone how it had turned silver and pointed, and gave Hermione a rare smile.

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Quirrell taught the first half of the class, but his lesson turned out to be a bit of a joke. He began by placing a sprig of garlic at the door, telling them that it was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. He told them that his turban had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you gift for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but none of them really believed this. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, there was a funny smell hanging around the turban that the Weasley twins asserted was due to the fact that it was stuffed with garlic, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.

During the second half of the class, though, Professor Masters took over. He told them that of all the dark creatures he'd found, ghosts were by far the most fascinating. He warned them that not all ghosts were as kind as the Hogwarts ghosts; in fact, the majority of them were very powerful and malevolent. He brought forward a glowing green box, and when he opened it what appeared to be a glowing green octopus flew out.

"An ectopus," he explained. "Not very powerful, but it would still be wise of you to try and avoid one of these wherever possible." He pointed his wand at the ectopus and shot a beam of green light at it. The light struck the ectopus and made it explode and cover everyone in ghost goo. Everyone applauded, and Professor Masters bowed just as the bell rang.

Friday was an important day for Harry, Ron, and Danny. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.

"What's up for today?" Danny asked as he poured milk into his cereal.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," Ron replied. "Snape's head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them…we'll be able to find out if it's true."

"Wish McGonagall favored us," Harry lamented. Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.

Just then, the mail arrived in the form of a hundred owls streaming into the Great Hall during breakfast and dropping letters and packages onto the laps of their owners. It had given all of them a shock on the first morning, but they were getting used to it by now.

Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. Once in a while she'd fly in to take a bit of his toast before going to sleep in the owlrey with the other school owls. This morning, though, she landed in between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore open the letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig._

_Sincerely,_

_Hagrid_

Harry borrowed Ron's quill and scribbled "_yes, please, see you later_" on the back of the note. Danny tossed Hedwig a piece of his cereal, which she easily caught in mid-air, and she flew off again.

It was lucky that they had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be that week's all-time low point. At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had thought that Professor Snape didn't like him. By the end of the first lesson, he'd realized that that was a bit of an understatement. Snape _hated_ him.

The lesson itself took place down in one of the dungeons. The room itself was cold and creepy, not to mention the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls. Snape, like Flitwick, started by taking the refister, and also like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.

"Ah, yes," he said softly. "Harry Potter. Our new…celebrity." Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Once Snape finished calling the names, he looked up at the class. His eyes were black, and held no traces of emotion. They were cold and empty.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began in a whisper. Despite that, they hung onto every word. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the subtle beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death…if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads I usually have to teach."

Harry, Ron, and Danny all exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione looked as though she was ready to prove that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter," Snape said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Harry looked at Danny, who looked just as confused as he felt. Hermione, on the other hand, immediately raised her hand.

"I don't know, sir." Harry said. Snape sneered.

"Tut, tut…fame clearly isn't everything." Danny smirked. Finally, here was someone who understood.

"What about you, Fenton?" Snape suddenly asked, and Danny paled. "Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Danny didn't have the foggiest idea of what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.

"I don't know, sir." Danny said.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Fenton?" Danny felt his eyes begin glowing a hot green. "Look at me like that one more time, Fenton, and it'll be five points from Gryffindor." Danny took a deep breath and forced his eyes to revert back to normal. He opened them once again and found Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looking at him strangely.

"Potter," Snape called, and the four of them snapped back to attention. "What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Hermione stood up, her hand stretching towards the dungeon ceiling.

"I don't know, " Harry said quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" A couple of people laughed; Harry caught Danny's eye and Danny winked. Snape, however, wasn't pleased.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is know as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying this down?" There was a shuffling noise as everyone rummaged around their bags for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said "and a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."

Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long, black cloak, watching them weigh nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus' cauldron into a twisted blob and their potion was sweeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy," Snape snarled. He muttered '_evanesco_' as he waved his wand at the spilled potion, and it vanished.

"I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the potion off the fire?" Neville whimpered as boils began to pup up all over his nose.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. He then rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.

"You, Potter, why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor." This was so unbelievably unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.

"Don't push it; I've heard Snape can turn very nasty," he muttered.

At five minutes to three, Harry, Danny, and Ron left the castle and made their way across the grounds. They approached Hagrid's small wooden house that was located on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.

Danny knocked, and they heard a frantic scrabbling inside and several booming barks. Then, Hagrid's voice rang out saying, "Back, Fang. Back!"

Hagrid's face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.

"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang." He let them in, all the while struggleing to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

"Make yourselves at home," Hagrid said. He let go of Fang, who immediately ran over to Ron and started licking his ears.

"This is Ron," Harry introduced to Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a teapot and started putting rock cakes onto a plate.

"Another Weasley, eh? I've spent half my life chasing your twin brothers away from the forest." His rock cakes almost broke their teeth, but Harry, Danny, and Ron pretended to enjoy them as they told Hagrid all about their first classes. Sometime during the recitation, Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and began drooling all over his robes. They were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch 'that old git'.

"And as for that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like to introduce her to Fang sometime. You know, every time I go up to the school she follows me everywhere! I can't get rid of her…Filch puts her up to it."

They told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape likes hardly any of his students.

"But he seemed to really hate me!"

"Rubbish!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Why should he?" But Harry got the feeling that Hagrid wasn't being totally honest when he said that.

"How's your brother Charlie?" Hagrid suddenly asked Ron. "I liked him a lot…great with animals." As Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While this was going on, Danny noticed a piece of paper lying on the table under the tea cozy. He picked it up and noticed that it was a cutting from the Daily Prophet:

_Gringotts Break-In Latest_

_Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on July 31, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts' goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day._

_"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out of it if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts' spkesgoblin this afternoon._

"Hey, wasn't July 31st your birthday?" Danny asked Harry.

"Yeah, why?"

"That was the day we went to Diagon Alley, and also the day of the Gringotts break-in! It could've been happening while we were there!" Danny handed the article over to Harry. Both boys were thinking the same thing. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault 713, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?

Danny, Harry, and Ron walked back up to the castle for dinner with their pockets weighed down by rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse. Danny and Harry silently agreed that none of the classes they'd had so far that week had given them as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Was the package the one that was meant to be stolen? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he wasn't telling?


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom! Butch Hartman does!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, seeing as I'm not wealthier than the Queen of England!**

* * *

Harry and Danny agreed that before Hogwarts, they'd never thought that they would meet someone they hated more than Dudley or Dash, but that was before they'd met Draco Malfoy. Thankfully, first year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common-room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday-and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together. 

"Typical," Harry groaned. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy." Although he'd had a lot of fun flying with Danny, he was really looking forward to learning how to fly on his own. Besides, he and Danny hadn't gone out for a fly since they'd arrived at Hogwarts, since there was too big of a chance that someone would see them.

"You won't make a fool of yourself," Danny reasoned. "Anyway, I know how much Malfoy's been blathering about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."

Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories which always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. He wasn't the only one, though; the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang-glider on Charlie's old broom. Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Harry had caught him poking Dean's poster of the West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players mover.

Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Personally, Danny felt that she'd had good reason, since Neville had more accidents than even _him_, and that was with both feet on the ground.

Danny wasn't too worried about flying. After all, he had superpowers, so why should he care about some stupid broomstick? He could fly on his own. Of course, he still had to do reasonably well without his powers because he wasn't about to blow his secret identity just yet. But that didn't mean he was going to give himself an ulcer worrying about the upcoming lesson.

Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book-not that she hadn't tried. Honestly, she appeared to Danny to have a striking resemblance to Jazz when she appeared at breakfast on Thursday with a library book called _Quidditch through the Ages_, and bored them all by reading them stupid flying tips. Neville was hanging onto every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang onto his broomstick later, but everyone else was more than happy when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the mail.

Harry hadn't received a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of candy from home, which he gloatingly opened at the Slytherin table.

A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.

"It's a remembrall!" he exclaimed. "Gran knows I tend to forget things sometimes-" Ron snorted, but covered it with a cough-"this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red…oh no…" his face fell, because the white smoke suddenly turned a glowing red. "It means you've forgotten something."

"You forgot to do your DADA homework," Danny suddenly said. Everyone looked up at him, surprised. The red glow of the remembrall was reflected in his irises, and he appeared to be in some sort of a trance. He closed his eyes and gave his head a slight shake, and when he re-opened them they were once again electric blue. Before any of them could ask what had happened, Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the remembrall out of Neville's hand.

Harry, Danny, and Ron all jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.

"What's going on?" She asked in a suspicious voice that implied that she already knew exactly what was going on.

"Malfoy has my remembrall, Professor." Malfoy dropped the remembrall back on the table with a scowl.

"Just looking," he said, and then stalked away with Crabbe and Goyle following him.

At 3:30 that afternoon, Harry, Danny, Ron, and the other Gryffindors headed down the front steps and into the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns towards a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds from the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly with the soft breeze in the distance.

The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Ron relayed Fred and George Weasley's complaints that the school brooms tended to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.

It wasn't long before their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair and yellow eyes, like a hawk. She strode over to the twin rows of broomsticks and stood at the front, right in-between the two rows.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up!" Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles. He looked over and saw that Danny's was no better.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," Madam Hooch called, "and say 'up!'"

"UP!" Everyone shouted.

Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, but his and Malfoy's were the only two that did. Danny's and Ron's did on the second try. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over a bit on the ground and Neville's hadn't moved at all.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end. After that, she walked down the rows and looked at each one of them individually, and corrected their grips. The Gryffindors were delighted when she told Malfoy that he'd been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle-three…two…" But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had even touched Madame Hooch's lips.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville couldn't have descended even if he'd wanted to. He shot straight up, and was soon at twelve feet…twenty feet…. Danny's first thought was to run off, go ghost somewhere private, and save Neville, but before he could even drop his broom Neville slipped sideways off his broom and…

WHAM

A thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick continued to rise higher and higher, and started to drift lazily towards the forbidden forest and out of sight. Madame Hooch rushed over to Neville and bent over his prone form.

"Broken wrist," she muttered. "Come on, boy, it's all right, up you get, that's it," She turned to the rest of the class. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say "Quidditch." Come on, dear." Madame hooch placed her arm around Neville and led him off. No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.

"Did you see the expression on his fat face when he landed on his fat ass?" The other Slytherins joined in.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Parvati Patil snapped.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl, sneered. "Never thought _you'd_ like fat little cry babies, Parvati."

"Look," Malfoy said. He darted forward and snatched something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." The remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.

"Give it here, Malfoy," Harry said quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch, and Danny took advantage of the distraction to sneak off. Malfoy smiled nastily.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect. How about…up a tree?"

"Give it _here_," Harry yelled, but Malfoy had already leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying; he _could _fly well. He hovered level with the topmost branches of an oak tree and called, "Come and get it, Potter!" Harry grabbed his broom.

"No, you can't!" Hermione Granger shouted. "Madam Hooch told us not to move! You'll get us all into trouble!" But Harry ignored her as he mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared, air rushing though his hair and robes whipping out behind him. He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.

Harry turned his broomstick to face Malfoy in mid-air. Malfoy looked stunned.

"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off your broom!"

"Oh yeah?" Malfoy replied. He tried to sneer but ended up looking worried. Harry leaned forward and graspted the broom tightly in both hands. It shot towards Malfoy like a javelin, and Malfoy only just got out of the way in time. Harry turned the broom around to face Malfoy again and held the broom steady. Danny, who was hovering intangibly and invisibly next to Harry, nodded appreciatively.

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.

The same thought seemed to have stuck Malfoy. He turned his broom to descend, defeated, when suddenly he was met with a disembodied pair of piercing green eyes. Spooked, he reflexively clamped his eyes shut and threw the remembrall right between the green eyes. Malfoy opened his eyes once more and looked around wildly for the apparition, but it had vanished.

Danny quickly made his eyes invisible once more as the remembrall phased through him. He turned around to get a glimpse of the ball when suddenly he jumped as Harry flew right through him. Danny watched as Harry leaned forward and pointed his broom handle-down. A second later he was gathering speed in a steep dive and racing the ball. He stretched out his hand and caught the ball just a foot above the ground. He had just enough time to pull his broom straight and topple gently on the grass with the remembrall clutched safely in his fist. The rest of the Gryffindors ran up to Harry, cheering. Danny quickly descended and transformed back to human in a deserted courtyard near the field where they had been flying, and ran over to congratulate his friend for the amazing save.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Professor McGonagall was running towards them. Harry got to his feet, trembling, and faced her. Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, her glasses flashing furiously. "Never, in all my time at Hogwarts…how _dare_ you…might have broken your neck…"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor-"

"Be quiet, Miss Patil!"

"But Malfoy-"

"That's _enough_, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."

Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant smirks as he left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode towards the castle. He was going to be expelled, for sure. Professor McGongagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Great. He hadn't even lasted two weeks, and now he'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on their doorstep?

Professor McGonagall led him up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, still without saying a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Finally, she stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?" A couple seconds later, a burly fifth year boy exited the classroom, looking confused. "Follow me, you two," Professor McGonagall said, and they marched up the hallway and entered a classroom, one that was empty except for Peeves. The Poltergeist was writing rude words on the blackboard.

"Out, Peeves!" McGonagall barked. Peeves threw the chalk into the trash bin, which clanged loudly, and swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.

"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood-I've found you a Seeker." Wood's facial expression immediately changed from confusion to delight.

"Are you serious, Professor?"

"Absolutely," Professor McGonagall replied, as a small grin appeared on her severe features. "The boy's a natural, I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"

Harry nodded silently.

"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood as she gestured towards the remembrall, which Harry was still clutching. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."

Wood was looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.

"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.

"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.

"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, who was now walking around Harry and sizing him up. "Light…speedy…we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor. A Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."

"I shall speak with Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. _Flattened_ in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…" Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry. "I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you." She then smiled again. "Your father would have been proud. He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."

* * *

"No way!"

It was dinner. Harry was just telling Ron and Danny what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd seemed to have forgotten all about it. Same with Danny and his hamburger.

"_Seeker?_ But first years _never_…you must be the youngest house player in about…" Ron began.

"…a century," Harry finished, and took a third helping of pie. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me. I start training next week, just don't tell anyone. Wood wants to keep it a secret."

Fred and George Weasley came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.

"Well done," George said in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too-Beaters."

"I tell you, we're going to win the Quidditch cup for sure this year," Fred said. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be amazing. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan thinks he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."

Fred and George had gone for maybe five seconds when Malfoy turned up, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the muggles?"

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," Harry replied coolly. Obviously, there was nothing whatsoever that could be considered little about Crabbe and Goyle, but seeing as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.

"I'd take you on any time on my own," Malfoy said. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only-no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he has," Danny said.

"Then I suppose you're his second, then?" Malfoy asked.

"Uh…sure. Who's yours?" Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle and sized them up.

"Crabbe," he finally said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked." Once Malfoy had gone, Danny and Harry both turned to Ron.

"What's a wizard's duel?" Harry asked.

"What's a second?" Danny asked.

"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," Ron said casually as he began his own pie, then caught the look of Harry's face. "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."

"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"

"Leave that to me," Danny said. He turned so that Ron couldn't see and made his eyes flash green for a second. Harry understood and grinned.

"Excuse me." The three of them looked up at the speaker. It turned out to be Hermione Granger.

"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" Ron said. Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.

"I couldn't help buy hearing what you and Malfoy were saying, and you _mustn't_ go wandering around the school at night. Think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your business," Danny replied.

"Goodbye," Ron said, and the three boys stood up and left the Great Hall.

As the three of them sat in the common room, Ron tried to give them some tips on dueling ('If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them.'). Finally, Danny just said that Ron should come with them instead of trying to get them to remember so many things.

"Half-past eleven," Ron eventually muttered. "We'd better go." The three boys picked up their wands and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common-room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them.

"I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry." A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger.

"_You!_" Ron whispered furiously. "Go back to bed!"

"I almost told your brother, Percy. He's a prefect, he'd put a stoop to this." None of them could believe that anyone could be so interfering.

"Come on," Harry said as he pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady. He, Danny, and Ron climbed through the hole. Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily, though. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry cat.

"Don't you _care _about Gryffindor, do you _only_ care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."

"Go away."

"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so-"

But what they were, they never found out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty canvas. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" she asked shrilly.

"That's your problem," Ron said.

"We've got to go, we're going to be late," Danny added, and the three of them continued walking. They hadn't even reached the end of the hallway when she caught up with them.

"I'm coming with you," she stated.

"You are _not_."

"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all four of us I'll tell him the thruth, that I was trying to stop you and you can back me up."

"You've got some nerve-" Ron said loudly.

"Shut up, both of you!" Harry whispered loudly. "I heard something." It was a sort of shuffling.

"Mrs. Norris?" Ron breathed as he squinted through the dark. It turned out not to be Mrs. Norris, but Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked awake as they crept nearer.

"Thank goodness you've found me! I've been out here for hours; I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."

"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig Snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."

"How's your arm?" Harry asked.

"Fine," Neville replied, as he showed it to them. "Madame Pomfrey fixed it in about a minute."

"Good. Well look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later-"

"Don't leave me!" Neville said, scrambling to his feet. "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

Ron looked at his watch and then glared at Hermione and Neville.

"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of Ecto-Acne Masters told us about and used it on you."

Hermione opened her mouth, quite possibly to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of Ecto-Acne, but Harry shushed her and beckoned them all forward.

They flitted along hallways striped with bars of moonlight from the high widows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed towards the trophy room.

Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once.

"He's late," Ron said.

"Maybe he's chickened out," Danny added.

Then, a noise in the next room made them all jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak. Someone that definitely wasn't Malfoy.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horrorstruck, Harry gesticulated wildly to the other four to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently towards the door away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped around the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere," he muttered. "probably hiding."

"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others, and they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting closer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run…

…and tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and brought both of them toppling right into a suit of armor. The clanging and crashing was enough to wake the whole castle.

"RUN!" Harry yelled, and the five of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following. They swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead without any idea where they were or where they were going. They ripped though a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew to be miles away from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," Harry panted. Danny and Neville were bent over, wheezing and gasping for air.

"I-_told_-you," Hermione gasped as she clutched a stitch in her side. "I-told-you."

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," Ron said, "as quickly as possible."

"You do realize that Malfoy was tricking you, right?" Hermione asked Harry. "He was never going to meet you. Filch knew someone was in the trophy room; Malfoy must have tipped him off." Although she was probably right, Harry wasn't about to tell her that.

"Let's go. We'll just quietly sneak back to Gryffindor Tower; it'll be easy."

They hadn't gone a dozen paces when Peeves came shooting out of the classroom in front of them. He saw them and squealed excitedly.

"It's never easy, is it?" Danny asked, sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

"Wandering around at midnight, ickle firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."

"I should tell Filch, I should," Peeves said in a saintly voice that was undermined by his wickedly glittering eyes. "It's for your own good, you know." Danny felt a surge of anger just like he had when they'd first encountered Peeves, right after the Opening Feast. His right hand sparked with energy again, but instead of dying down, it grew into green ecto-energy that surrounded his hand. Since they were distracted by Peeves and he was standing behind everyone else, none of the other Gryffindors saw the energy. Danny looked Peeves in the eye and held his hand up threateningly. That was his mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, and Danny immediately winced. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

They ducked under Peeves and started running. As Danny was the last one, he turned around and held his hand out. A green beam of energy shot out and hit Peeves in the stomach. Danny smirked and powered the energy down, and followed the others.

The five Gryffindors ran for their lives, right down to the end of the hall where they slammed into a door-and it was locked.

"This is it," Ron moaned as they pushed helplessly at the door. "We're done for! This is the end!" Danny would have tried going intangible, but he didn't think he was strong enough to phase himself and four other people though a door. Besides, that would blow his secret identity sky-high.

They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could towards Peeve's shouts.

"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered '_alohomora!_'

The lock clicked and the door swung open. They piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."

"Say, 'please'."

"Don't mess me about, Peeves, now _where did they go?_"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," Peeves said in his annoying sing-song voice.

"All right-_please_."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaa!" and they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.

"He thinks the door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be OK…get _off_, Neville!" Neville continued to tug on the sleeve of Harry's robes. "_What?_"

Harry turned around and saw, quite clearly, what. For a second he thought he'd walked into a nightmare. This was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far. They weren't in a room, as they had supposed. They were in a corridor.

"The forbidden third-floor corridor," Ron said hoarsely.

"And now we know why it's forbidden," Harry added.

They were looking into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between the ceiling and the floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.

It was standing perfectly still, all six eyes staring at them, and everyone present knew that the only reason why they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that. There was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.

"I always wanted a puppy," Danny commented.

Seven heads, four human and three canine, turned to face him with raised eyebrows for a second, and then the five Gryffindors fell backwards though the door and slammed it shut. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else because they didn't see him anywhere, not that he cared. All they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they'd reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.

"Where have you all been?" She asked, looking at their nightgowns hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.

"Never mind that, pig snout, pig snout," Harry panted, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs.

It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville looked as though he'd never speak again.

"So when I was five, I really wanted a puppy, but my parents, they-" Danny began, but was cut off by Ron.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" Ron finally asked. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back.

"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was a bit preoccupied with its heads."

"No, _not_ the floor. IT was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." She stood up, glaring at them.

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed-or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

"No, we don't mind," Ron said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?"

"I know," Danny added. "She _really_ needs to sort out her priorities."

But the three of them were thinking deeply as they climbed into bed. That dog was guarding something…it's like Hagrid had said-Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide, except perhaps Hogwarts.

Looks like they'd found out where the grubby little package from vault 713 was.

* * *

Next chapter, Ron and Hermione find out that Danny's a halfa! Yay, exposure! (cough). But yeah, as always, I'll update as soon as I can, but no guarantees. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: During the four months it's been since I last updated, I have not come into the possession of _Harry Potter_ or _Danny Phantom_!**

* * *

Malfoy's eyes practically popped out of his head when he saw that Harry, Danny, and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day looking tired yet happy. In fact, by that morning the three of them had thought that the meeting with the three-headed dog was a great adventure, and they couldn't wait to have another one. At the same time, Harry and Danny told Ron about the package that had apparently been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly warrant such heavy protection.

"I bet it's really valuable…probably jewels," Ron had said.

"Don't bet on it," Danny warned, and Harry snickered.

"It's either really valuable, really dangerous, or both," Harry said. Unfortunately for them, the only thing they knew for sure about the object was that it was about two inches long. With that barely valuable information, they couldn't hope to figure out what it might be.

Neither Neville nor Hermione showed any interest on what was underneath the dog and the trapdoor. In fact, all Neville really cared about was never going near that dog again.

Hermione wasn't speaking to Harry, Danny, or Ron, but since she was always a bossy know-it-all, they considered this an added bonus. The three of them were really only concerned about getting back at Malfoy. Luckily for them, they got their chance with the mail the next week.

As per the usual, an untold number of owls flooded into the Great Hall. As they did so, everyone's attention instantly turned to a long, thin package that was being carried aloft by six screech owls. The boys were just as interested as everyone else, and were amazed when the owls dropped the package on the table in front of Harry, in the process knocking over Danny's bacon.

"Hey, I was eating that!" Danny yelled to the departing owls as a seventh owl dropped a letter on top of the package.

Harry tore open the letter before starting on the package, which turned out to be a good idea. The letter read:

_DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch pitch at seven o'clock for your first training session._

Professor M. McGonagall 

It was nearly impossible for Harry to hide his euphoria as he handed the note to Danny, and then to Ron.

"Hey isn't that the broom we saw at Diagon Alley?" Danny asked.

"Heck yeah! A Nimbus Two Thousand…" Ron moaned. "I've never even _touched_ one…"

They left the hall quickly in an attempt to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class. Unfortunately, halfway across the entrance hall they found their way upstairs blocked by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy, who was standing in-between the two behemoths, seized the package.

"That's a broomstick," he said as he felt the package. He threw it back to Harry, mixed jealousy and spite apparent on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter. First years aren't allowed them."

Ron tried to hold it in, but he just couldn't resist.

"It's not just any old broomstick; it's a Nimbus Two Thousand!" He exclaimed. "What've you got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" He grinned at Harry. "Comets might look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

"Yeah, you got nuthin' on this!" Danny added.

"What would you know about it Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy spat. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig. And Fenton, as if you even know what a Comet Two Sixty even _is_. Honestly, don't butt your head in when you're clearly out of your league."

Before the two of them could respond, Professor Flitwick suddenly appeared at Malfoy's elbow. They all jumped, as none of them had seen him approach them.

"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" He squeaked.

"Potter's got a broomstick, Professor," Malfoy said immediately, and smirked at Harry.

"Yes, yes, that's right," Professor Flitwick said as he beamed at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. What model is it?"

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," Harry said as he fought back the laughter that was induced by the smirk being wiped off of Malfoy's face and being replaced with a look of horror.

"And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I got it," he added. He, Ron, and Danny headed upstairs, all the while trying to stifle their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion.

"I guess it's true, when you think about it," Danny said as they reached the top of the marble staircase. "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall, you wouldn't have had to dive for it and you wouldn't have been on the team…"

"So I'm guessing you think that that's a reward for breaking rules?" Said an angry voice from just behind them. The owner of the voice quickly became apparent as Hermione stomped up the stairs, a disapproving look on her face as she eyed the package in Harry's hand.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" Harry asked her.

"Yeah, don't stop now," Ron added.

"It's doing us so much good," Danny finished. Hermione humphed and marched away, her nose in the air.

Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his classes that day, as it kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch pitch where he'd be learning to play that night. He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating and then rushed upstairs with Ron and Danny to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand.

"You do realize that you just ate a platter of goulash," Danny noted as they entered the room. Harry shrugged and returned his attention to the wrappings around the broom.

"Wow," Ron sighed as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread.

Even Harry and Danny, neither of whom knew anything about the different brooms, thought that it looked fantastic. It was sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, a long tail of neat, straight, twigs, and the words _Nimbus Two Thousand_ written in gold on a bump towards the end of the handle.

As Seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off towards the Quidditch pitch in the dusk. Little did he know that Danny, in his ghost form, was invisibly following him. Neither of them had been in the stadium before, and both were awed at what they saw. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the pitch so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. AT either end of the pitch were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Danny of the bubble rods he, Tucker, and Sam used to blow bubbles with when they were little, except for the fact that these were fifty feet tall.

Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. He was amazed at the feeling, and swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the pitch. His Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch. Danny had a small smile on his face as he followed Harry on his broom. Flying was by far his favorite power, and he knew exactly what was going through his friends head as he soared through the air.

"Hey, Potter, come down!" Wood called from the ground. He was carrying a large wooden grate under his arm. Harry landed next to him, while Danny remained floating invisibly just to Harry's left

"Very nice, said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant; you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week." He opened the crate, and inside there were four different-sized balls.

"Right," Wood began. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."

"Three Chasers," Harry repeated as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.

"This ball's called the Quaffle. The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try to get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"

"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited.

_Quaffle_, Danny thought, and chuckled at the funny name. Wood and Harry heard this, and looked up, startled.

"Did you hear that?" Wood asked. Harry looked around for the source of the noise, and Danny quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide. A couple of tense seconds later, Harry shrugged.

"I guess it was nothing," he said.

"I guess…" Wood replied, though still a bit shaky. "Anyway, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper. That's me. I have to fly around our hoop and stop the other team from scoring."

"Three Chasers, one Keeper," Harry said, determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got it. So what are they for?" He asked, pointing at the three remaining balls.

"I'm getting to that," Wood said as he handed Harry a small wooden bat, much like a miniature baseball bat. "I'm going to show you what these two do. They're called Bludgers." He pulled out two identical balls. They were jet black and slightly smaller than the Quaffle. Harry and Danny could both see that the two were clearly straining to escape the straps that were holding them inside the box.

"Stand back," Wood warned. He bent down and pressed the mechanism that released the straps holding one of the Bludgers. Immediately, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it breaking his nose and sent it zig zagging away into the air. It swooped down towards Danny, who quickly turned intangible to dodge, and then it shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.

"See?" the older boy panted as he forced the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapped it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around trying to bludgeon the players. Hence the name. That's why you have two Beaters on each team. The Weasley twins are ours; it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them towards the other team. So, you think you've got all that?"

"Three Chasers try to score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry said. Danny scratched his head, overwhelmed by all of the information.

"Very good," Wood commented.

"Have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked nervously.

"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws, and then there was my first-ever match…I took one to the head and woke up in the hospital wing two weeks later." Harry gulped and Danny shuddered. "But that's really about it. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers-"

"Unless they crack my head open."

"Unless they crack your head open," Wood amended. "But don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers. I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."

Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared to the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering wings.

"_This_," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages…I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing in substitutes so the players could get some sleep.

"Well, that's pretty much it. Any questions?" Harry shook his head no. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.

"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," Wood said as he carefully shut it back inside the crate. "It's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these." He pulled a bag of golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he, Harry, and Danny were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.

Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.

"That Quidditch cup'll have our name on it this year," Wood said happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could've played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."

It was probably due to the fact that Harry was now going to three Quidditch practices a week, not to mention all of their homework, that Danny and Harry could barely believe it when they realized that they'd already been at Hogwarts for two whole months. The castle felt almost like a second home to them, and their lessons were becoming more and more interesting now that they'd mastered the basics.

On Halloween morning they woke up to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something that they'd all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry and Danny worked together, but Ron had the misfortune to be stuck with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this; she hadn't spoken to any of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" Squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important too-never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." Danny chuckled; that anecdote never ceased to amuse him.

However, his good mood wore off relatively soon, as the task was very difficult. He and Harry swished and flicked until their wrists ached, but the feather that they were supposed to be sending skywards just lay on the desktop. Danny got so impatient that he poked it with his wand and accidentally caused it to erupt in green flames, and Harry had to put it out with his hat. Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much luck either.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_" He shouted, as he waved his long arms around like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," they heard Hermione snap. "It's win-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled. Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and recited the incantation. Their feather immediately rose up off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, well done!" Cried Professor Flitwick, as he applauded the bushy-haired girl. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

It was safe to say that Ron was pretty angry by the end of the class. "It's no wonder no one can stand her," he told Harry and Danny as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor. "She's a nightmare, honestly." Someone knocked into Danny as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. He caught a glimpse of her face, and was startled to see that she was in tears.

"I think she heard you," The halfa muttered to his redheaded friend as the bushy-haired girl ran ahead of them.

"So?" Said Ron, although he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed that she's got no friends."

Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry, Danny, and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathrooms and wanted to be left alone. Ron still looked more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations immediately put Hermione out of their thoughts.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as hit had at the start-of-term banquet.

Harry was just helping himself to a jacket potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table and gasped, "Troll…in the dungeons…thought you ought to know…"

He then sank to the floor, out cold.

There was uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy, now in his element, snapped to professional attention.

"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"

"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron.

"Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke?" Danny suggested.

They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Danny suddenly grabbed Harry's arm.

"I just remembered-Hermione." Harry's eyes widened.

"She doesn't know about the troll," he confirmed. Ron bit his lip nervously.

"Fine," he snapped, "But Percy'd better not see us."

Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off towards the girls' bathrooms. They had just turned the corner when they heard a set of quick footsteps behind them.

"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling the other two behind a large stone griffin.

Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"Search me." The two of them were busy discussing Snape's antics that neither of them noticed the trail of blue smoke that Danny exhaled. He felt, no, _sensed_, a ghost following Snape. As Harry and Ron silently crept along the next corridor in an attempt to follow Snape's footsteps, he swiveled his head this way and that in order to spot the offending ghost. Unfortunately, the ghost had remained invisible, so he could not discern it's identity.

"He's heading for the third floor," he heard Harry say, but Ron held up his hand.

"Can you smell something?" The other two sniffed and a foul stench reached their nostrils, one that reminded Harry of old socks and Danny of the bathroom at the Nasty Burger.

And then they heard it-a low grunting and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed: at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving towards them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.

It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs as thick as tree trunks with flat, spiky feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the ground due to the unnatural proportion of its arms to its body.

The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, and then slouched slowly into the room.

"The key's in the lock," Harry noted. "We could lock it in."

"Good idea," said Ron nervously.

They edged towards the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. Plucking up his courage, Danny grabbed the key, slammed the door, and locked it.

"_Yes_!"

Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop-a high, petrified scream-coming from the camber they'd just chained up.

"Oh no," Ron wailed, as pale as Nearly Headless Nick. Harry's eyes flicked up to the sign above the door, and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"It's the girls' bathrooms," he gasped.

"_Hermione_!" They said together.

It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic-Harry pulled the door open-they ran inside.

Hermione Granger was shrinking against the opposite wall, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.

"Distract it!" Harry yelled desperately, and he grabbed a tap and threw it as hard as he could against the wall.

The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting a club as it went.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout towards Ron instead, giving the other two time to run around it.

"Come on, run, _run_," Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her towards the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.

The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll beserk. It roared again and started towards Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Danny watched as Ron's eyes flicked to either side of the troll, looking for an escape that wasn't there. He saw as Harry continued to try to make Hermione run, to get to safety. He observed Hermione's terrified gaze, knowing that she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop this troll. He realized that both of his friends had tried to distract the troll, while he'd done nothing but watched. He realized that there _was_ something he could do to stop the troll. He really didn't want to reveal his secret identity in front of Ron and Hermione, but he saw that there was no other way.

As the troll began to raise his humongous club, a ring of white light exploded around Danny's waist. A look of intense anger was visible in his crystal-blue eyes as the ring split, each new ring traveling across his school robes, and was intensified when the ring passed his face and morphed the crystal blue to emerald green.

Danny shot into the air and called upon the energy that he'd used against Peeves. Immediately, the crackling green power rushed to his hands, and he willed it towards the troll. The energy struck the troll's small bald head, causing it to howl in pain. The troll flailed its club around, trying to hit Danny like one would an ectoplasmic piñata.

Hermione had sunk to the floor in shock and terror; Ron pulled out his own want-not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: '_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

The club suddenly flew out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over-and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.

Danny landed on the ground, and in a flash of light returned to human form. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done. The three human wizards stared at the troll, surprise at Danny's transformation overshadowed by the small stupid mountain lying in front of them.

It was Hermione who spoke first.

"Is it…dead?"

"I don't think so," said Harry. "I think it's just been knocked out." A few green sparks erupted around the troll's head. "Although it may be a bit stupider now that it was before, thanks to the lobotomy you gave it."

"If that's even possible," Ron noted.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racked they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell and Masters bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart. Masters watched him, an amused twinkle in his ice-blue eyes, then bent over the troll along with Snape.

Professor McGonagall was looking at Danny, Harry, and Ron. Danny had never seen her look so angry; her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from his mind.

"What on earth were you thinking?" said Professor McGonagall, her voice emoting cold fury. She looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why weren't you in your dormitory?"

"Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor, wishing that Ron would put his wand down.

Then a small voice came out of the shadows.

"Please, Professor McGonagall-they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.

"I went looking for the troll because I-I thought I could deal with it on my own-you know, because I've read all about them.

Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?

If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead by now. Danny…I'm not quite sure what Danny did, but he did something to distract it and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived.

Ron, Harry, and Danny tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.

"Well, in that case…" said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them. "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out candy.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their Houses."

Hermione left, and Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, Danny, and Ron.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.

"We should have got more than fifteen points," Ron grumbled.

"Ten, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's," Danny added.

"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we _did_ save her. And also," he turned to Danny. "What the bloody hell did you do?" Danny sighed.

"I'll explain later…it's too long a story for me to tell all of it now." They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Pig snout," they said and entered.

The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they al said 'thanks.' They hurried off to get plates, then sat together in a corner while Danny told them about his parents, his powers, and the energy that he'd unleashed on the troll.

But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.


End file.
